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A woman says in a lawsuit filed in Kansas federal court Wednesday that she is subjected to a hostile work environment at Citibank, along with disciplinary actions and discrimination because of her gender identity.
Plaintiff TeeAnna Polonczyk is a transgender woman who works at Citibank in Kansas. She says that despite more than 25 years in insurance and financial services and consistently strong job performance reviews while working at Citibank starting in 2016, she suffered discrimination starting in 2018 when she began presenting as a female at work. In addition, Polonczyk says that she has been denied necessary medical procedures under her insurance plan as a result of discriminatory practices at Citibank.
The plaintiff says that she has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and in 2011 she took steps to transition her body from male to female. Though she presented as male when she began working at Citibank in 2016, she began to wear more feminine clothing and earrings to work. As she underwent additional gender transition surgeries, she says she began to present as female at work, telling her employer that she was female in 2017.
In 2019, Polonczyk says that she was criticized by her Citibank superiors about the length of a dress she wore and told that she needed to wear leggings in an hour-long lecture. In addition, she says that her supervisor began to make discriminatory comments and provide poor job performance reviews at the same time.
She says the comments and her superior’s actions were upsetting and she brought her concerns to Citibank’s human resources department. Allegedly, human resources staff told her not to bring in outside parties and ended up putting her on paid administrative leave. In addition, Polonczyk says that the human resources department conducted an investigation into her private social media pages and non-work conversations.
In addition, the plaintiff says that additional medically necessary surgical procedures to complete her transition were denied in 2019. Polonczyk says that she continues to suffer discrimination at Citibank because her facial features are still masculine. She also alleges that she has appealed the continued denial of insurance coverage for her surgeries.
The lawsuit alleges that Polonczyk wanted to escape her discriminatory work environment and asked to transfer to a different department in Citibank. She says her request was denied despite available openings.
Polonczyk accuses Citibank of gender discrimination, both in the way she has been treated by her supervisor and human resources department and by denying insurance coverage for her surgeries. She is seeking damages and attorney’s fees.
Have you suffered gender discrimination at Citibank or another workplace? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.
The plaintiff is represented by Michael J. O’Hara and Aaron M. Beck of O’Hara, Taylor, Sloan & Cassidy.
The Citibank Gender Discrimination Lawsuit is Polonczyk v. Citibank, NA, Case No. 2:21-cv-00059-DLB-CJS in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky Northern Division at Covington.
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One thought on Citibank Accused of Hostile Work Environment in Gender Discrimination Lawsuit
I placed a complaint and lawsuit against Citi for discrimination and hostile work environment. It was filed and then they law firm said they lost the paperwork….i need to follow up on this. I think Citi paid them off.