Repeated HR complaints allegedly went nowhere before the worker was let go
A Black transgender cook has sued Compass Group, alleging years of anti-trans slurs, ignored complaints, and retaliation.
The plaintiff filed the complaint on September 14, 2026, in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The case names Compass Group USA, Inc. and its subsidiary Restaurant Associates Corp. as defendants, bringing claims under Section 1981, Title VII, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law.
The plaintiff started as a prep cook in February 2022 at approximately $18 per hour, working at One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, according to the complaint. The plaintiff was promoted to cook by September 2022 at approximately $20 per hour.
The filing alleges the harassment started almost right away. A cafe manager called the plaintiff a "spooky trans bitch" multiple times a week for three months during the summer of 2022, the complaint says. The plaintiff reported the comments to a director of dining services, who told her he would look into it. The complaint alleges no action followed.
By December 2022, a general manager called the plaintiff a "black bitch," according to the filing. The plaintiff tried to report the comment to a vice president of operations but did not receive a response, the complaint says. The plaintiff eventually used the company's third-party employee complaint hotline. An HR advisor followed up by email, but the complaint alleges the advisor ignored the plaintiff's written response and closed the case without action.
The filing says the plaintiff was transferred to a new worksite at Hudson Yards in January 2023, a move the complaint characterizes as retaliation for her discrimination complaints. At the new location, two supervising chefs regularly misgendered the plaintiff, called her the "man in the wig," and threw out her belongings from her locker, the complaint alleges.
The filing raises a job-classification allegation that goes to the heart of the pay claims. Another executive chef kept the plaintiff listed in the company's system as "utility" instead of "cook" - her actual title - to block her from securing promotions, the complaint says. The filing alleges the chef told the plaintiff, in substance, "you can keep applying to jobs, I'll just tell them you can't even make salad."
When the plaintiff emailed the vice president of operations about treatment of transgender employees in early February 2023, the complaint alleges a chef was dispatched to her worksite, became belligerent, and told her: "get the fuck out. If you're not going to leave, then shut the fuck up and do exactly what the fuck I tell you. I don't give a fuck about discrimination or HR."
The pay gap widened in July 2024, the complaint says, when cooks at the plaintiff's worksite received approximately $2.00 raises. The plaintiff missed out because of the "utility" classification, according to the filing. She flagged the issue with a general manager, but the complaint says it took more than three months for the company to correct her title, and she never received backpay for the gap.
In May 2024, the complaint says the plaintiff underwent facial feminization surgery, a decision the filing ties directly to the hostile work environment, alleging she wanted to stop co-workers from calling her the "man in the wig." She was approved for 12 weeks of FMLA leave to recover. The complaint alleges a supervising chef texted her during her leave, suggesting she should already be back at work.
Retaliatory write-ups followed the plaintiff's discrimination complaints, the filing alleges. In February 2025, a sous chef told the plaintiff, "not everyone deserves a birthday, especially not men in wigs," the complaint says. That same day, the plaintiff received a final warning for absences, absences that fell on dates she was out on approved FMLA leave, according to the filing. The write-up was withdrawn after the plaintiff pointed out the overlap.
The complaint describes ongoing harassment through 2025. The filing says the company began putting the plaintiff's deadname, a name given at birth that does not align with a transgender person's gender identity, on her work documents, despite her having used her legal name throughout her three-year employment. A sous chef sent the plaintiff a photo of a sandwich labelled an "LGBT Sandwich" with the message "they're in our sandwiches now," the complaint says.
The plaintiff resigned on approximately September 26, 2025, after what the complaint describes as years of unrelenting mistreatment. She was unemployed for about a month before landing a new role within the company's organization, the filing says.
The complaint alleges the final termination was triggered by the plaintiff asserting her legal rights. On January 22, 2026, her attorneys transmitted a draft complaint. Five weeks later, a regional director of operations informed the plaintiff she would "no longer be working in your assigned position as Dining Services Manager effective 3/31/2026," according to the filing. The company officially terminated the plaintiff on approximately April 30, 2026, citing her leave as the reason, leave the complaint says the company placed her on specifically because she had asserted legal claims.
The plaintiff filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC on July 22, 2026, and received a right-to-sue notice on August 13, 2026, according to the complaint. She seeks lost wages, compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorneys' fees. A jury trial has been demanded.
The allegations in the complaint have not been tested in court. No court has ruled on the merits of the claims.
