After a precedent-setting ruling by the Vermont Attorney General that Vermont law prohibits discrimination against transgender people in employment, public accommodations, housing, and other areas, the Town of Hardwick yesterday settled a discrimination claim brought by former police officer Anthony Barreto-Neto.  In its ruling on November 4, 2003, the Attorney General found probable cause that the Town of Hardwick illegally fired Barreto-Neto after it learned that he is transgender.  Barreto-Neto is represented by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, a New England-wide public interest legal organization, and Beth Robinson of Langrock, Sperry & Wool in Middlebury.

According to Jennifer Levi, an expert on transgender legal issues at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, “The Attorney General clearly found that transgender persons are protected under Vermont’s prohibitions against sex or sexual orientation discrimination. This is a ground-breaking decision for transgender people who have historically been excluded from many civil rights protections and continue to experience pervasive discrimination. The Attorney General should be commended for determining that all Vermonters must be judged or their merits rather than stereotypes.”

Anthony Barreto-Neto, an experienced and skilled police officer, began working at the Hardwick Municipal Police Department in April 2002. Shortly after he began employment, town officials doing an internet search on Mr. Barreto-Neto found a website that described him as “transsexual.”  Based on the information, town officials presumed his inability to do the job.  Following the search and dissemination of the information to senior police department personnel, Barreto-Neto was subjected to a continuous pattern of harassment and inferior work conditions that became so severe he had to leave his job.  In issuing its probable cause ruling, the Attorney General credited testimony of a former police chief, Gregory Rambo, that a town official directed him to make Barreto-Neto so uncomfortable that he would leave the force.

The settlement that was adopted yesterday included a payment of $90,000 to Barreto-Neto and a requirement that the town adopt a formal policy of nondiscrimination against transgender persons and train its employees on transgender issues.

Officer Barreto-Neto filed a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General on July 29, 2003 alleging discrimination. After an extensive investigation, the Attorney General in November 2003, found probable cause that the town subjected Barreto-Neto to unequal work conditions that were so intolerable that no reasonable person could be expected to continue to work under them. The Attorney General also found probable cause to determine that the termination was directly due to discrimination because Barreto-Neto is transgender.

Barreto-Neto commented, “As a career police officer, I’m deeply committed to law enforcement and just want to be able to do my job.  I filed this case because I knew that transgender people like myself face discrimination in many aspects of our lives due to irrational fears and prejudices of others.  I hope this decision means that employers create a better understanding of transgender people in their workplaces.”