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.
"I'm mainly exhausted at this point," Bosco says of the political attacks that have been lobbed against members of the transgender community. "It's just never-ending. It's just this deluge of hate that keeps on happening.
"But the thing with a lot of right-wing talking points is they pick a boogeyman or some sort of scapegoat and they change it about every ten years," the trans drag performer adds. "It's been trans people for a while, it's been Mexican people, it's been Black people, it's been any sort of 'other' that they can then manipulate people into being afraid of, and then they can blame all of the problems in the country on that one group of people. And right now trans people are taking the brunt of it."
Editor's note: This article contains graphic descriptions that may upsetting to readers.
The woman described as the "ringleader" in the killing of transgender man Sam Nordquist in upstate New York has pleaded guilty to state charges, agreeing to a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Precious Arzuaga, 40, faced 11 charges, including first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, second-degree conspiracy, first-degree aggravated sexual abuse, and concealment of a corpse for her role in holding Nordquist captive, torturing him inside a Hopewell motel room, and disposing of his body in the winter of 2025.
The Daughters of the American Revolution voted against a proposal to ban transgender members during the organization's 135th Continental Congress, held June 26 at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. The proposal would have required applicants to be "born female" to qualify for membership.
The organization limits membership to women aged 18 and older who descend from people who aided the American Revolution. An estimated five transgender women have joined DAR chapters in recent years, sparking debate over whether "daughters" should include people assigned male at birth who identify as women.
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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.
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