(PHOTO: FACEBOOK: ALEXIADASAKALAKIS)
Alexia Daskalakis is suing Forever 21, Christian-owned apparel company, for discrimination.
Christian-owned apparel company, Forever 21, has responded to a discrimination lawsuit recently filed against them by a transgender employee by saying the company has “zero tolerance for discrimination.”
In a statement sent to The Christian Post on Thursday, the billion-dollar company confirmed that it is investigating a complaint filed by Alexia Daskalakis, 22, formerly known as Anthony, earlier this month. The former Brooklyn-based employee filed the lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court on April 1 claiming she was unlawfully discriminated against by management after transitioning to a woman and she is seeking unspecified monetary damages.
“At Forever 21, we are committed to diversity and inclusion in our stores and in all business related activities, and strive to maintain a safe and respectful work environment for all employees,” Forever 21 wrote in a statement to CP. “While we cannot comment on the specifics of the pending case, we take this matter very seriously and are currently conducting an internal investigation. We have zero tolerance for discrimination of any sort.”
In court documents obtained by CP, Dasakalakis, who was employed by the company for four years, claims managers at a Brooklyn store began treating her with “increasing contempt” in Jan. 2014 when she informed them that she was transitioning from male to female. She also claims that she was fired in Jan. this year without reason after she complained about the alleged mistreatment.
Forever 21 was founded in 1984 by the Chang family, Do Won and Jin Sook Chang, who are devout Christians. Their commitment to faith is reflected on the bottom of the company’s trademark yellow shopping bags, which has “John 3:16,” printed on them in reference to the Bible verse that reads:”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The Los Angeles-based company employs about 30,000 people and makes over $3 billion annually.
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SOURCE: The Christian Post
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