Settlement in court

McDonald’s must pay trans woman 16,500 euros

(Bild: dpa/Angelika Warmuth)

Because a colleague denied a trans woman (28) access to the women's changing room at her workplace, a McDonald's branch in Berlin, she took her case to the labor court. A settlement has now been reached in which the fast food chain will pay 16,500 euros and the employment relationship will be terminated.

The incident had already taken place in December 2023, but the settlement was only reached a year later. Kylie Divon started working at the fast food chain in 2019. She initially described herself as non-binary and changed in the women's or men's restroom.

Muslim colleague felt disturbed
From 2020, she finally only wanted to be addressed as "she" - in July 2023, she also informed her superiors of this and only wore women's clothing. The situation finally escalated a few months later when a Muslim colleague prevented her from going into the women's changing room. She didn't care what she looked like "on top" because it looked different on the bottom, she told her with a wave of her hand. The colleague denied these accusations. 

Divon reported on Instagram that she was glad it was all over:

According to Divon, the manager had not supported her, quite the opposite: when she complained, he had explained to her, mutatis mutandis, that a man just stays a man. According to the "Süddeutsche Zeitung", the presiding judge quoted the accused store manager as saying that he would not feel comfortable if a person used the men's changing room "who felt like a man but was clearly not a man".

Discrimination yes, but not a "hostile environment"
The statement was problematic, the judge stated, as it was discriminatory and denied that the person concerned was female. However, she doubted whether this justified compensation for damages, as claimed by the plaintiff. To do so, it would have to be proven that "a hostile environment" had been created for the person concerned in the workplace, which was not evident. 

The plaintiff also appears as a drag queen:

McDonald's legal representative naturally rejected the accusation of discrimination, stating, "No one was aware that the plaintiff wanted to be in the women's locker room and considered herself a trans woman." After the incident, it was agreed that everyone should knock before entering the changing room. It seemed as if this solution was also okay with the plaintiff.

Quick agreement after settlement proposal
In the end, Divon's lawyer proposed a settlement, which also provided for the end of the employment relationship. The company agreed after less than two minutes