Iowa court upholds gender identity discrimination case

Source: Associated Press

Iowa court upholds gender identity discrimination case

By DAVID PITT
April 1, 2022

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday upheld much of a 2019 jury verdict that found the state discriminated against a transgender state prison employee by denying him the use of men’s restrooms and locker rooms, but the court dismissed a portion of the case that centered on sex discrimination.

The ruling means Jesse Vroegh, a former nurse at the state’s Mitchellville prison for women, has won his discrimination lawsuit based on gender identity and the jury’s $120,000 damages verdict for emotional distress.

The decision in which the full court recognized gender identity discrimination for transgender workers under state civil rights law is a significant LGBTQ victory.

American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa lawyer Melissa Hasso has said the lawsuit was the first related to transgender rights that’s been filed since lawmakers amended the Iowa Civil Rights Act in 2007 to bar discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. When Vroegh won in district court, she said that verdict marked “an historic day for transgender Iowans, their friends and families.”

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-lawsuits-discrimination-iowa-gender-identity-db52b4a7e36b0bc743349c94b9c03cd4


This undated photo provided by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa shows former Iowa prison nurse Jesse Vroegh. The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday, April 1, 2022, upheld a February 2019 jury verdict that said a warden discriminated against Vroegh, who is transgender, by refusing to let him to use men's bathrooms and locker rooms at work. The verdict was the first of its kind in Iowa. (Veronica Fowler/ACLU of Iowa via AP)