A gay teen who was allegedly forced
to wear a homophobic name tag while working at the fast-food chain Taco John's
is now brandishing that very same name tag in a call for awareness and change.
Tyler Brandt, a 16-year-old from
South Dakota, resigned from his position at Taco John's in Yankton in June
after his manager allegedly made him wear a name tag reading "gaytard." Although
a manager at the eatery claimed the incident was a joke that Brandt went along
with, Brandt tells a different story.
"It wasn't my idea, and I never
thought it was funny," he wrote for the American Civil Liberties Union's
(ACLU) Blog of Civil Rights. "It's a mean, ugly word that makes fun of both gay people
and people with developmental disabilities, and I would never call myself a
name like that."
The ACLU filed a discrimination charge Tuesday on Brandt's
behalf with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the South
Dakota Department of Labor. The group claims Taco John’s violated Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 -- legislation that prohibits
employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national
origin -- as well as the South Dakota Human Rights Act, they said in a
statement to The Huffington Post.
“What happened to me was so
incredibly humiliating,” Brandt said in a statement sent to HuffPost. “I just
hope that telling people what happened to me can help make sure that no other
Taco John’s employee will ever go through this kind of harassment again.”
Brandt and the ACLU also launched a petition demanding
an apology from Taco John's along with a social media campaign on Tumblr. The
campaign, titled "Taco John's Called Me a 'Gaytard,'" calls
for others to share selfie photos with derogatory names that have been used
against them.
The photos shared on the Tumblr page,
with slurs like "dyke," "fag" and "terrorist,"
serve to enforce the overarching message behind Brandt's movement: "No one
should have to face bullying and discrimination in their workplace or elsewhere."
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