Transgender Woman Seeking Employment Is Suing A New York Hooters For Discrimination

A Hooters in upstate New York has been the scene of a couple of protests outside their restaurant in the last few weeks. The reason for the protests involving less than half a dozen is due to a local transgender woman suing the breastaurant for discrimination.

Brandy Livingston, a regular at the Colonie, New York Hooters, told NEWS 10, "I’m suing Hooters for sex-based discrimination, on the basis of accommodation and on the basis of employment."

Livingston's version of events claims that employees use male pronouns, "They would refer to me as he." Like the time Livingston used a female bathroom at the location.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - AUGUST 15: Hooters girls on pit lane prior to the start of the NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 at the Brickyard on August 15, 2021 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway IN.(Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"I overheard one of the servers after I left the restroom talking to one of the managers and said that, ‘Why are you allowing him in the women’s restroom?,'" claimed Livingston. "And the manager said, ‘Oh, I don’t like it any more than you do.'"

This leads to the hopes and dreams of Livingston working at the Hooters, reportedly as a server, being dashed. Three times Livingston applied for a job and three times Livingston was denied.

"I said, do you want to see my experience or anything? Because I had previous jobs I had written down," Livingston said. "And he said, ‘Oh, we don’t care about experience. We hire on the basis of personality. And there’s an image that needs to be met.’"

The refusal to hire Livingston led to a claim being filed with the New York State Division of Human Rights. They investigated the claim and found enough evidence that Livingston's rights may have been violated under New York Executive Law 296. There will be a hearing, which will take place in September 2025.

Brandy Livingston's version of events is slightly different from that of Hooters

That's Livingston's version of events. Hooters has a slightly different story that could shine a light on why they chose not to pursue employment. Assuming their version is the more accurate one.

Lawyers for Hooters say that Livingston was asked not to return to the restaurant because of claims of offensive actions. They allege that the transgender woman, before and after transitioning, made sexually explicit comments to servers, including discussions about masturbation.

Livingston denied saying anything like that. There were also claims by Hooters that Livingston "had threatened to go to a gun range for practice for the next time you came to the restaurant."

That was a simple misunderstanding. Livingston explains, "My mom would take me to the gun range and for clay pigeon shooting, trap. I feel like one of the servers might have overheard what me and my dad were talking about and misunderstood what we were talking about."

Brandy Livingston isn't after money here, an apology will do just fine. "What I really want, is an apology. I’m never going to get that," Livingston admitted.