Transgender man sues 24 Hour Fitness after being told to put on shirt in sauna
A transgender man is suing 24 Hour Fitness for discrimination after he was told he needed to put on a shirt in a sauna while other shoppers had been allowed to reveal their chests.
Kaileb Harper, a transgender African-American man, alleged in a lawsuit filed last month in California state court docket that an worker of the fitness chain repeatedly misgendered him and taunted him by referring to him as “ma’am” — this despite being told his pronouns had been “he/him.”
Harper, a 24 Hour Fitness member who used the Bellflower, Calif., location, alleges in the lawsuit filed Dec. 18 in Los Angeles Superior Court that he complained about the worker’s conduct to management.
A transgender man is suing 24 Hour Fitness after he was told he needed to put on a shirt in a sauna while other males had been allowed to reveal their chests. Google Maps
The employee, who was recognized in court docket papers as “Kenny,” angered Harper when he insisted that the buyer put on a shirt in the coed sauna even though “other patrons who identified as male” weren’t required to take action.
According to the lawsuit, Harper beforehand used 24 Hour Fitness’s World Trade Center location in Long Beach, which included a gender-neutral rest room.
Initially, the gender-neutral restroom required a key to entry it, however then the fitness center restricted it to staff-use only, according to the lawsuit.
After Harper misplaced entry, he started utilizing the males’s restroom at the fitness center.
In 2022, another member allegedly seen scars on Harper’s chest, following him out of the rest room and made him really feel harassed because he’s transgender, according to the criticism.
According to the lawsuit, Kaileb Harper first began utilizing 24 Hour Fitness’s World Trade Center location in Long Beach, which included a gender-neutral rest room. 24 Hour Fitness
Harper said he reported the incident to the fitness center’s management and requested entry to the gender-neutral rest room.
He alleged in the criticism that management made no effort to accommodate him.
Harper said in 2023, he started utilizing the Bellflower location.
Harper alleged in the criticism that he complained about Kenny’s conduct to other staff, however no investigation was performed and subsequent complaints had been never escalated to management.
Harper says he was denied entry to the gender-neutral rest room at the 24 Hour Fitness location in Long Beach. 24 Hour Fitness
Harper is suing under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act and for intentional infliction of emotional misery.
“Due to the repeated acts of discrimination and the failure to remedy it, Mr. Harper has been discouraged from fully utilizing the benefits, privileges and accommodation as a member of 24 Hour Fitness,” the criticism sated.
Harper said as a result, he has “lost past and future income and employment benefits, damage to his career, and lost wages” along with “psychological and emotional distress, humiliation and mental and physical pain and anguish.”
The plaintiff is looking for damages in extra of $35,000.
The Post has sought remark from Harper and 24 Hour Fitness.
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