Transgender Employee Sues Railroad for Discrimination Claiming She Was Passed Over for Promotion

A former BNSF worker who was named one of the railroad’s employees of the year in 2021 for her work in supporting LGBTQ+ workers is now suing the railroad where she worked for 30 years, saying that after being promoted regularly earlier in her career she was denied advancement opportunities after her gender transition.

Randi Berghorst sued the Fort Worth, Texas-based railroad in federal court recently, arguing BNSF discriminated against her.

“I’m extremely disappointed that this is where it had to go,” she said.

BNSF declined to comment directly on Berghorst’s lawsuit, and it hasn’t yet responded formally in court. But railroad spokesperson Lena Kent defended BNSF’s hiring practices and said the railroad doesn’t discriminate against people based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Kent cited the PRIDE+ employee group that Berghorst helped form as evidence that BNSF “is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace.”

Read the source article at thepublicsradio.org