Chicago woman says she was fired from her job because she is transgender

After she says she was harassed and peppered with inappropriate questions, a Chicago woman is claiming she was fired from a “Circle K” in southwest suburban Bolingbrook because she is transgender.

Judi Brown worked for about a year before being let go in 2017 and she claims in a new, federal lawsuit that the questions -- even the use of a racial slur -- started right away.

It came to a head when she says she was set to perform in the Chicago Pride Parade. She says despite her employer knowing that, she was scheduled for a last minute shift the day of the parade.

After calling out sick to attend the performance, she came into work the next day to find out she had been terminated.

“It was another form of harassment, another way to get rid of me. I feel like I was definitely voicing my opinion with the things that were happening wrongfully and that’s how they retaliated,” Brown said.

“What Circle K did to Judi was unfair and it was illegal and it was a violation of both state and federal anti-discrimination laws,” ACLU attorney Carolyn Wald said.

In a statement sent to FOX 32 about the lawsuit, the company says: "Circle K is an equal-opportunity employer with a diverse workforce including transgender employees and fully cooperated with agency authorities during the previous investigation into this claim.”

The lawsuit asks for monetary damages, as well as attorney fees.