Restaurant Fined $7,000 for Telling Biological Male Not to Use Women’s Restroom

A D.C. restaurant was fined $7,000 by the city this week after it tried to stop a biological male customer who identifies as female from using the women’s restroom. 

The restaurant also must post a sign declaring that “all individuals are allowed to use the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity or expression.”

The controversy started last year, when Charlotte Clymer, a transgender woman who was born male, entered the women’s restaurant at Cuba Libre, a Cuban restaurant in the District of Columbia. An employee followed Clymer into the restroom. A manager even asked for Clymer’s identity. 

After being told to leave, Clymer – an activist with the Human Rights Campaign – called police. The D.C. Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on gender identity. 

The fine is part of a settlement with the office of D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine. A statement by Racine said the restaurant also must hold training for employees.

“The District’s laws reflect one of our residents’ most deeply-held values: that all people should be treated equally,” Racine said. “With this settlement, Cuba Libre is required to maintain policies that will ensure this type of discrimination does not happen again. I want to thank the restaurant’s management and staff for cooperating fully in our investigation and seeking to rectify…