Boise settles federal gender discrimination lawsuit
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho city has settled a federal discrimination lawsuit with a former library employee who said they were harassed and discriminated against because they are non-binary and transgender, the Idaho Statesman reports.
Perez filed a lawsuit against Boise, the former library director and other library and city employees in U.S. District Court in Boise last summer. Perez, who uses they/them pronouns, was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.
In a news release Friday, the city said the settlement was reached after both parties “evaluated the merits of the case and the resources required for extensive litigation.”
“The city’s policies and practice continue to make the equitable treatment of employees a priority,” the statement said. “This settlement is an affirmation of that commitment.”
The Statesman said it has asked the city for the settlement amount but has not yet received an answer.
The lawsuit stemmed from two separate instances in 2019.
On one occasion, the lawsuit said, then-library director Kevin Booe took action to have Perez fired after a library patron objected to a pride display Perez had organized at the library.
Perez also received a “notice of intent to discipline” that criticized comments they made from their personal Facebook page about a library pride event that they shared to a neighborhood group on the social media platform.
In October 2019, Perez filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Idaho Human Rights Commission, alleging sex discrimination and retaliation. In April 2020, the Human Rights Commission found that Perez was indeed sexually harassed and discriminated against while working at the library.
