Transgender prison nurse accuses state of discrimination

A transgender male who is a longtime Iowa Department of Corrections nurse has filed a complaint against the state and his insurance provider alleging he was discriminated against because of his gender identity.

Jesse Vroegh, 34, who was born a female but has identified as a male since he was 7, alleged the department turned down his request to use men’s bathrooms and locker rooms and denied him health coverage for transition-related care, according to a complaint filed Thursday with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, the state agency that investigates discrimination claims.

Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, who are representing Vroegh in concert with the ACLU LGBT Project and cooperating attorney Melissa Hasso, are arguing the denials violate the nondiscrimination in employment section of the Iowa Civil Rights Act as well as Vroegh’s right to equal protection under the Iowa Constitution.

“Rather than setting a good example for other Iowa employers, the state has denied me the use of gendered spaces as well as the health insurance coverage I need simply because I am transgender,” Vroegh said in a statement. Vroegh said he has been a staff nurse at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville for seven years.

Read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2016/07/21/transgender-discrimination-prison-department-corrections/87389040/