Walgreens has decided to change its bathroom policies following an incident at one of their Los Angeles locations — in which a woman was denied access to the ladies room because she “looked like a man.”
The drugstore chain will now allow customers to “use restroom facilities that correspond to the individual’s gender identity, regardless of the individual’s sex assigned at birth,” according to officials.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California announced the policy change in a statement on Monday.
“Everyone needs safe restroom access, and California law protects every person’s right to access restrooms based on their gender identity in workplaces, schools, and business establishments,” explained ACLU SoCal Staff Attorney Amanda Goad. “It’s important for businesses to make sure their employees understand that requirement, just like Walgreens is now doing.”
Jessie Meehan, an active member of the LGBTQ community, claims she was discriminated against last summer by a manager at Walgreens on Sunset Boulevard.
She had just spent roughly $20 in the store and asked a female clerk to use the bathroom, but was allegedly denied access due to her appearance.
“She told me I looked like a man and needed to use the men’s room,” Meehan recalled during an interview with the ACLU.
She said she asked to speak with a manager, and was then told by said manager that it was store policy to deny access to people based on their appearance.
“I had to go so I didn’t put up much of a fight and used the stall while the men used the urinals next to me,” Meehan wrote in an email to Walgreens. “This in itself was very humiliating for me and I felt extremely uncomfortable.”
Meehan also sent a letter to Walgreens — explaining what happened and providing suggestions on what they could do to fix the situation — but they didn’t initially respond.
It wasn’t until she linked up with the ACLU that the company finally got back to her.
“Through [Meehan’s] efforts, with the backing of the ACLU of Southern California, the Walgreens pharmacy chain with more than 8,000 stores nationwide adopted a policy to address bathroom discrimination,” the group said in its statement Monday.
While Meehan sought help from the ACLU, she never once asked for money or threatened to sue.
“I’ve been discriminated against my whole life based on my appearance, based on looking too male,” she told the ACLU. “[This was] the first time I actually said something about it, did something about it — and I can imagine thousands of people that don’t do anything about it when they feel bad about themselves.”