Transgender woman awarded $50,000 settlement from Kansas Highway Patrol

A woman who sued the Kansas Highway Patrol for firing her after she came out as transgender was awarded a $50,000 settlement on Thursday.

The deal was negotiated by the state’s attorney general and was unanimously approved in a video conference meeting by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and eight leaders of the Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature.

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“I was treated as a villain backstory-origin to excuse or explain away his behavior,” she wrote.

Neither Kelly, the GOP legislators nor the woman commented following the approval. The lawsuit sought damages for lost wages, suffering, emotional pain, and “loss of enjoyment of life.”

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The former Highway Patrol employee was a buildings and grounds manager at the patrol’s Topeka headquarters. They sought to socially transition at work from male to female. Court records reported by the AP indicate the ex-employee, whose last name was listed as Dawes, was referred to by a male first name and male pronouns.  

Dawes, a Topeka resident, sued after being fired in June 2022.

The Highway Patrol said Dawes was terminated following accusations of sexual harassment and a “lack of cooperation” in an investigation over the issue, the patrol claimed.

But Dawes’ lawsuit alleged that was a pretext for terminating Dawes because she was transgender.

The settlement followed the state’s request four months ago to dismiss the lawsuit before a trial. U.S. District Judge John Broomes instead ruled there were “genuine issues of material fact” for a jury to settle.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars LGBTQ+ discrimination.

Dawes’ attorney said top patrol leaders met “a couple of months” before Dawes was fired to discuss how to terminate her in a meeting that wasn’t documented. The attorney called the lack of a record “a serious procedural irregularity.”

The patrol acknowledged the meeting occurred but said they convened to seek legal advice about their “responsibilities in accommodating Dawes” in her social transition at work.

The patrol cited two instances in which Dawes made “sexual advances” to another female employee.

In May 2022, Dawes allegedly told the woman “how nice it was to see a female really taking care of herself.” In an email the next month, Dawes wrote, “Just a note to tell you that I think you look absolutely amazing today!”

Dawes acknowledged those interactions, but her attorney said she hadn’t been disciplined for them before being fired.  

When an investigator sought to interview Dawes about the interactions, she says she declined because she wanted an attorney present. The patrol cited Dawes lack of “full cooperation” in the investigation for firing her.

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