A transgender former soldier must be financially compensated after being discriminated against by her supervisors while working as an Army civilian at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled April 1.

The ruling echoed an earlier verdict by the Office of Special Counsel that labeled actions taken against Tamara Lusardi — including preventing Lusardi from using the women's restroom and using Lusardi's former name and masculine pronouns in conversations and emails — as violating a federal law "which prohibits discrimination based on conduct that does not adversely affect job performance."

Unlike the first ruling, the EEOC verdict requires the Army to investigate the amount of compensatory damages owed to Lusardi and come up with a figure within 120 days. It also mandates various equal-opportunity training programs for workers at Redstone's Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center, recommends the Army consider discipline for two of Lusardi's unnamed supervisors, and requires Lusardi be granted "equal and full access to the common female facilities" immediately.

Lusardi served on active duty from 1986 to 1992 and was honorably discharged as a sergeant, then served in the Alabama National Guard until the end of 2000, according to records provided by the Transgender Law Center, which represented Lusardi in the case.

Lusardi "transitioned from male to female in 2010," according to the center's news release.

"This decision makes it clear that, like everyone else in the workplace, transgender employees should be judged by the quality of the work we do, not by who we are," Lusardi said in the release.

Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.

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