ACLU of Michigan Fights for Transgender Workplace Rights as Federal Agency Retreats
Civil Rights Organization Steps In After EEOC Abandons Discrimination Case Against Culver's Restaurant for Firing Transgender Employee and Allies
In a troubling reversal of federal civil rights enforcement, the ACLU of Michigan has announced it will intervene in a transgender discrimination lawsuit after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) abruptly abandoned its claims against a Culver's restaurant in Clarkston, Michigan.
The case centers on Asher Lucas, a transgender man and two colleagues — Regina Zaviski and Savannah Nurme-Robinson — who were allegedly fired after they complained about harassment and discrimination Lucas faced at work.
Federal Agency Abandons Its Duty
Just four months after filing the lawsuit following a years-long investigation, the EEOC is now seeking to withdraw, citing President Trump's executive order directing federal agencies not to promote what the administration refers to as "gender ideology." This reversal comes despite the U.S. Supreme Court's previous ruling that employment discrimination against transgender people violates federal law.
EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas declined to comment specifically on this case but stated in remarks to the Associated Press that the agency "will robustly comply with the President's executive orders" as an agency of the executive branch.
The original lawsuit, filed in October 2024, alleges that managers at the Culver's location warned an employee about harassing and misgendering Lucas, but when Lucas and his colleagues Zaviski and Nurme-Robinson continued to report that the harassment didn't stop, all three were terminated.
ACLU Michigan Steps In
The ACLU of Michigan is now seeking to intervene on behalf of Zaviski and Nurme-Robinson, who would otherwise be left without legal recourse following the EEOC's withdrawal. Lucas, represented by separate counsel, was granted permission to intervene last month.
"When the government agency that is supposed to protect the civil rights of all people abandons an entire group it is supposed to protect, at the behest of a president who is cruelly vilifying them, we have no choice but to step in and try to help," said Syeda Davidson, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Michigan, in a statement. "This administration's willingness to ditch its legal obligations is the continuation of the onslaught of attacks on transgender people that is happening in our state and across the country. It is deeply harmful and must be stopped."
Employees Speak Out
Regina Zaviski, who is being represented by the ACLU, explained her motivation for standing up against discrimination: "I was raised to believe everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. I was also taught that it is important to speak out when you see something wrong, and to try and stop it."
She emphasized that the harassment Lucas faced was "terribly wrong" and that her termination for speaking out was both "wrong and illegal." Zaviski added, "What your gender is, or how you present yourself at work, has nothing to do with your ability to make French fries."
Savannah Nurme-Robinson, the other employee being represented by the ACLU, highlighted the importance of speaking out "when someone is being harassed or mistreated," noting that it's "even more important now, when the federal government is not just abandoning its obligation to protect the rights of an entire group of people, but is intentionally targeting them in a way that is extremely cruel and harmful."
Broader Implications
The case is one of seven that the EEOC is seeking to drop nationwide, signaling a systematic retreat from protecting transgender rights in the workplace under the new administration.
The EEOC's justification for dismissing these cases is that they "may be inconsistent" with President Trump's executive order directing federal agencies to "recognize that women are 'biologically female, and men are biologically male.'"
The lawsuit and the ACLU's motion on behalf of Zaviski and Nurme-Robinson are currently pending in the U.S. District Court in Detroit before Judge Brandy R. McMillion.
As federal protections for transgender individuals appear increasingly uncertain, this case underscores the critical role of civil rights organizations like the ACLU in continuing to defend workplace equality when government agencies retreat from their enforcement responsibilities.
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