Arizona settles suit alleging harassment of transgender officer

$100,000 paid to settle suit

PHOENIX, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Arizona has settled a suit alleging harassment of a corrections officer at two state prisons.

In 2016, the officer resigned after working for the State for nearly 11 years.

The former corrections officer alleges his co-workers and supervisors harassed him for being a transgender man.

Bloomberg Law says the John Doe alleged the abuse began as soon as he began to work for the Department of Corrections in 2006.

The state of Arizona agreed to pay $100,000 Thursday, settling a lawsuit which alleged the former officer's co-workers and supervisors repeatedly harassed him.

The lawsuit states colleagues would use derogatory words towards the former officer and put his safety at risk for outing him publicly.

It further alleges the Arizona Department of Corrections failed to respond to his complaints, even after he was transferred to a different facility.

The suit says his led the unnamed officer to resign in 2016 after working in prisons in Florence and Douglass, Arizona.

Court records state the Department of Corrections denied officers and supervisors made offensive comments towards the former officer, and that harassment continued, reports the Associated Press.