Trans woman sues Hooters after they ‘refused to hire her’
A transgender woman is suing a Hooters franchise for discrimination after they allegedly refused to hire her based on “her image.”
Brandy Livingston is a regular at the restaurant, famous for its scantily clad waitresses, on Wolf Road in Colonie, a suburb of Albany, New York.
With career aspirations to work for the chain, Livingston had applied three times for listings, all of which she said were unsuccessful.
Speak with News10Livingston said she was disrespected as a woman in the establishment, and alleged employees actively discriminated against her.
She told the outlet, “They used male pronouns. They would call me he.”
Brandy Livingston is a regular at the restaurant on Wolf Road in Colonie, a suburb of Albany, New York
Livingston filed a claim with the New York State Division of Human Rights, which investigated and found evidence that her rights may have been violated
When she was denied a job, she added, “I said, do you want to see my experience or something? Since I had previous jobs, I had written it down.
“And he said, ‘Oh, we don’t care about experience. We recruit based on personality. And there is an image that has to be lived up to.”
Livingston said she also heard employees and a manager at the restaurant harass her about using their restroom.
She claimed: ‘I overheard one of the attendants talking to one of the managers after I left the restroom and said, “Why are you allowing him in the women’s restroom?”
‘And the manager said, “Oh, I like it as much as you do.”
Livingston filed a claim with the New York State Division of Human Rights, which investigated and found evidence that her rights may have been violated.
Hooters has since responded to the claims, saying Livingston was told not to return to the establishment due to alleged offensive behavior.
Their lawyers said Livingston allegedly made sexually explicit comments to servers several times prior to her transition.
News10 reporter James De La Fuente questioned Livingston about it, saying the chain accused her of asking servers to marry her and discussing masturbation.
Livingston said she also heard employees and a manager at the restaurant harass her about using their restroom
The chain restaurant is known for its scarce cad waitresses, who are here representing the company at a 2021 Nascar event
Protesters can be seen here outside the restaurant in support of Livingston and her claims
The company also said she threatened to “go to a shooting range to practice for the next time you come to the restaurant.”
Livingston told the outlet, “Which I never said anything about. My mother took me to the shooting range and for skeet shooting, trap shooting.
“I feel like one of the servers may have heard what my dad and I were talking about and misunderstood what we were talking about.”
Because of the state Human Rights Division’s findings, Hooters and Livingston will attend a hearing next September.
Livingston told the outlet she doesn’t want any money for her claims, adding, “What I really want is an apology.” I’m never going to get that.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Hooters for comment.