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A former Bath & Body Works store manager in Layton, Utah, said she was fired after refusing to address a transgender employee by their preferred pronouns.
Jocelyn Boden filed a charge of discrimination last week with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after she was terminated in May from the company she had worked at for three and a half years.
Boden, a “devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” said in her charge that she was “chastised and alienated” by co-workers after she was unwilling to address a new transgender employee by their preferred pronouns. Boden said she addressed the biological female co-worker, who identified as male, by their chosen name, but because of her religious convictions, could not address the co-worker by male pronouns.
“Ultimately, team members complained about Ms. Boden’s religiously motivated decision to the human resources department,” the filing states. “This complaint led to an interrogation into Ms. Boden’s use of pronouns. Ms. Boden indicated her religious objection to Bath & Body Works’ pronoun policy, including during a discussion with her district manager just two days before the district manager terminated Ms. Boden’s employment.”
Jocelyn Boden claims she referred to her new co-worker by their chosen name but could not use male pronouns due to her religious convictions. ((Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images))
Boden was promptly fired after these complaints were filed, without warning and in violation of the company’s discipline policy, according to the filing.
According to documents in the filing, the company discharged Boden for violating their code of conduct, “which prohibits any unwanted conduct directed at an individual based on their sex, which includes sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or transgender status.”
“Jocelyn admitted to this behavior and shared with multiple parties that she refused to use correct pronouns. As a result of this investigation, and her admittance, we are making the decision to part ways and end their employment effective immediately,” her alleged termination notice states.
The discrimination charge was filed by Texas-based legal group, First Liberty, a group that fights religious liberty cases.
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“My convictions do not allow me to lie by affirming a reality I believe is false. Therefore, I cannot refer to a female using male pronouns,” a former Utah Bath & Body Works manager’s EEOC complaint states after she was allegedly fired for not calling a co-worker by their preferred pronouns. (iStock)
First Liberty claims Bath & Body Works’ conduct violated Boden’s religious rights under Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination based on protected characteristics such as race and sex. It also alleged the company violated the Utah Anti-discrimination Act when it “retaliated” against Boden for expressing her religious beliefs, failed to grant her a religious accommodation, perpetuated a “hostile work environment” and “wrongfully” terminated her employment.
“I believe that using pronouns out of line with this understanding of gender is dishonest,” Boden said in the filing to the EEOC. “My convictions do not allow me to lie by affirming a reality I believe is false. Therefore, I cannot refer to a female using male pronouns.”
Most workplace discrimination claims have to be processed through the EEOC before they can be resolved in court, Stephanie Taub, senior counsel for First Liberty, told CBN News.
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A former store manager in Utah said she was fired from Bath & Body Works for refusing to address a transgender co-worker by their preferred pronouns. (Bath & Body Works website)
The EEOC told Fox News Digital it was prohibited by law from commenting on alleged charges filed.
A Bath & Body Works spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “Bath & Body Works complies with all laws concerning employment practices. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate in our management of our associates on the basis of any protected status.”
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Bath & Body Works LLC received a 100% score on providing an inclusive workplace by the Human Rights Campaign in 2025 and was named a leader in LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion.