A former Bath & Body Works employee is asking the Trump administration to investigate after she was fired for violating the company’s pronoun policy. Jocelyn Boden began working at Bath & Body Works in Layton, UT as a store manager in October of 2021. In February 2025, according to a statement by Boden, she interviewed and hired a transgender individual, a biological female who identified as male. According to Boden, she worked her first shift with the individual on April 26, 2025. After she referred to the individual as “she” to fellow employees, she received pushback, although she was willing to refer to the employee by her chosen name. Boden was then called into the Human Resources department to discuss why she would not use the employee’s preferred pronouns of “he.”

Boden, who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, stated, “It would violate my sincerely held religious beliefs to use pronouns that appeared to be artificially invented. My religious belief is that gender is immutable, declared by God, and cannot be changed. Accordingly, I could not in good conscience refer to an associate by ‘preferred pronouns’ that were inconsistent with reality and my moral beliefs as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” Boden stated she informed a subordinate of her religious beliefs as well as HR. She also informed HR that she felt she was being discriminated against due to her religious beliefs. Despite complaining to her District Manager, who was also a member of the LDS, Boden was fired on May 8. She stated she had received no warning or disciplinary action prior to the firing.

Boden sought legal counsel with First Liberty, which sent a complaint to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “No one should be forced to choose between their job and their faith. Bath & Body Works could have easily worked with Jocelyn and offered an accommodation, but instead they choose to violate state and federal law and fire her,” said Stephanie Taub, Senior Counsel for First Liberty Institute in a statement. “Forcing employees to violate their conscience and religious convictions violates the federal Civil Rights Act.” First Liberty is hopeful the EEOC will investigate the case and give more clarity to how the law should be applied when it comes to employees and pronoun policies, particularly given the administration’s push to define gender by biological sex.