Chickasaw County Courthouse in Houston, Miss. – Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD.
A former county corrections officer in Mississippi is suing her employer, alleging that she was fired because she is transgender.
Elise Hebert, a prison guard in Chickasaw County, is seeking back wages and damages for sexual harassment that she claims she was subjected to while on the job.
In her lawsuit, Hebert claims that she was harassed after her fellow officers at the county jail learned of her gender identity, reports NBC affiliate WTVA.
After being hired, Hebert claims that Brand Huffman, the warden, confronted her and asked about her past. He pulled her into an office with George Dallas, the chief of security at the prison, making Hebert feel embarrassed, offended, and uncomfortable at being the only female in the room.
Hebert asked that her transgender status be kept confidential, but it became apparent that her gender identity was not only widely known, but was being discussed among her co-workers and even some inmates.
Hebert claims she was subjected to derogatory and humiliating statements concerning her sexuality and gender at work, was never paid on time, leaving her at times without enough money to fill her gas tank so she could get to work, and was targeted by other officers and superiors, who lodged complaints about her behavior on the job, even though it was no different from that of her male co-workers.
She claims she was targeted because her behavior did not conform to stereotypes about how women are supposed to behave — which would be considered a form of sex-based discrimination.
Hebert says she complained to her superiors, as well as to Sheriff James Meyers, about her treatment, but no action was ever taken. Due to the complaints against her, she was eventually fired.
Hebert’s attorney, Lisa Bennett, told WTVA she has not received a response from the county in reaction to the lawsuit. The county has by Nov. 30 to respond.
The Colorado Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit against a Christian baker who refused to create a cake celebrating a gender transition for a transgender woman on procedural grounds.
In doing so, the court sidestepped the issue of whether -- and to what extent -- a person's First Amendment rights override local nondiscrimination laws.
Lower courts in Colorado had previously ruled in favor of the woman, Autumn Scardina, finding -- based on the facts of the case -- that Jack and Debra Phillips, the owners of Masterpiece Cakeshop, in Lakewood Colorado, had discriminated against her by refusing to bake a custom-made cake only after they found out the purported significance of the cake.
“I feel extremely grateful for the result of the court case. I feel blessed,” says Diana Portillo, a transgender immigrant who recently won a historic judgment relating to a discrimination and harassment lawsuit against the owner of the McDonald's franchise for which she worked. “I always had faith in God that it was going to turn out right.”
In August, Portillo was awarded $930,000 by a D.C. Superior Court jury for the discrimination she experienced due to her gender identity, as well as retaliation for complaining while employed in 2013 at a McDonald’s on Georgia Ave. in Northwest D.C.
A federal appeals court upheld an Alabama policy requiring transgender individuals to undergo gender confirmation surgery in order to change the gender marker on their driver's licenses.
In 2018, three transgender residents of Alabama sued to challenge the state's Policy Order 63, arguing that the surgical requirement violates their constitutional rights by forcing them to undergo a costly, invasive, and -- depending on their unique form of gender dysphoria -- potentially unnecessary medical procedure just to have their identities recognized as valid by the state. Currently, eight other states have similar requirements in place.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
A former county corrections officer in Mississippi is suing her employer, alleging that she was fired because she is transgender.
Elise Hebert, a prison guard in Chickasaw County, is seeking back wages and damages for sexual harassment that she claims she was subjected to while on the job.
In her lawsuit, Hebert claims that she was harassed after her fellow officers at the county jail learned of her gender identity, reports NBC affiliate WTVA.
After being hired, Hebert claims that Brand Huffman, the warden, confronted her and asked about her past. He pulled her into an office with George Dallas, the chief of security at the prison, making Hebert feel embarrassed, offended, and uncomfortable at being the only female in the room.
Hebert asked that her transgender status be kept confidential, but it became apparent that her gender identity was not only widely known, but was being discussed among her co-workers and even some inmates.
Hebert claims she was subjected to derogatory and humiliating statements concerning her sexuality and gender at work, was never paid on time, leaving her at times without enough money to fill her gas tank so she could get to work, and was targeted by other officers and superiors, who lodged complaints about her behavior on the job, even though it was no different from that of her male co-workers.
She claims she was targeted because her behavior did not conform to stereotypes about how women are supposed to behave — which would be considered a form of sex-based discrimination.
Hebert says she complained to her superiors, as well as to Sheriff James Meyers, about her treatment, but no action was ever taken. Due to the complaints against her, she was eventually fired.
Hebert’s attorney, Lisa Bennett, told WTVA she has not received a response from the county in reaction to the lawsuit. The county has by Nov. 30 to respond.
Read more:
The Feed: Miley Cyrus thought she “had to be gay”; “Dangerous” app claims to identify gay DNA; Marriage equality in Northern Ireland
Portland man who attacked two gay men outside bakery gets 15-day jail sentence for bias crime
Florida theater teacher fired from Christian school because she’s gay
READ NEXT