A Westbrook resident who identifies as a transgender man his filed a federal lawsuit against his former employer, Cafua Management, a Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee, saying he was harassed and fired in retaliation from his job at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Scarborough. According to Kye Hubbard’s attorney, it’s the first case in Maine to cite new Civil Rights protections since a June 15, 2020 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hubbard worked as a shift leader at the Scarborough location from February 2018 until he was let go Jan. 25, 2019. The complaint alleges the harassment began when Hubbard’s manager, Brandon Avery, revealed Hubbard’s transgender status to co-workers in May 2018, despite Hubbard’s wish to keep his status confidential. Following that, the complaint said co-workers began harassing Hubbard.
“They called him names like ‘it,’ ‘he/she,’ and ‘thing’ on multiple occasions,” the complaint said.
