Transgender Nike contractor says company ignored harassment

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A transgender software engineer who worked as a Nike contractor says in a recently filed complaint with state labor officials that the company did nothing to stop abuse and harassment by other contractors.

Jazz Lyles, who identifies as “transmasculine/nonbinary” and prefers the pronouns “they” and “them,” says in a complaint filed Tuesday that some of their colleagues refused to use gender-neutral pronouns.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the complaint alleges that Nike ignored requests to provide training on pronoun use.

Lyles began working at Nike in May 2017 and ended the contract work last month after Nike denied a manager’s request to make Lyles a permanent employee.

Lyles says in the complaint that they believe the reason they weren’t hired was due to their gender identity.

Nike has declined to comment on the compliant.

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Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com