A federal judge refused to dismiss a suit brought against Cook County by a transgender jail employee who claims a supervisor violated his privacy by outing him to his coworkers.
Logan Grimes, a medical technician at Cook County Jail, claims federal due process violations and state law claims for violation of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and hostile work environment. His suit names Cook County and his supervisor, Melvin Judkins, as defendants.
Grimes completed gender reassignment treatment in 2006. He has a masculine appearance and has always kept his transgender status private, telling only a few close friends. In 2013, the lawsuit states, Grimes began working at the jail, where he witnessed several incidents of harassment against transgender people.
In 2018, the suit said, Judkins told Grimes’ coworkers that he was no longer assigned to Division Six – a coveted, low-security section of the jail – because he was transgender. Word spread among the jail staff and the lawsuit says at least one of Grimes’ coworkers told him she feared for his safety.
Worried about the physical safety of himself and his family, Grimes took an unauthorized leave of absence from the jail. He requested a paid leave, since he said cis-gender employees - those who gender identity matches the sex that they were assigned at birth - are typically placed on paid leave when there is a threat to their safety. The county refused. Grimes claims Judkins’ decision to share his secret cost him friendships, created mental anguish, and caused him so much stress he had to begin taking medication for high blood pressure.
Judkins argued that his conduct does not rise to the level of “shocking the conscience,” a requirement under the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment. However, U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman wrote, it is not the only way to establish a due process claim. Violating a person’s right to keep their medical information private is also grounds for a claim under the law.
Judkins argued that the information wasn’t truly “private” because several jail employees suspected Grimes might be transgender and teased him about it. Judkins’ disclosure, however, widely confirmed what had been only suspected by a few, Feinerman said.
Judkins tried to claim qualified immunity from the federal charge by stating no reasonable official in his position could have known that telling people Grimes was transgender violated due process. Feinerman responded that laws protecting the privacy of medical records are “well established.”
Judkins claimed immunity again on the state law claims, saying the Illinois Local Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act protects him from liability for actions taken as part of his work. Feinerman said Grimes’ claims fall under an exception to the act, which does not protect “willful and wanton conduct” intended to cause harm or demonstrating a disregard for the safety of others.
The county claimed any harassment Grimes received was not pervasive or severe enough to rise to the level of a hostile work environment. Feinerman disagreed, citing examples from the complaint about harassment that Grimes claimed went on daily for months.
Aside from the harassment, Feinerman wrote that Grimes’ claims he was denied a choice work assignment, refused the paid leave afforded to cis-gender employees, and retaliated against when he complained, are all sufficient to argue a hostile work environment under the Illinois Human Rights Act.
Judkins tried to turn the same law to his own advantage, claiming it preempted the invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress charges against him.
“Grimes’ claims … do not necessarily turn on Judkins having acted with any motive, such as animus towards transgender people, that would be unlawfully discriminatory under the IHRA,” Feinerman wrote. “Grimes alleges that Judkins’ actions were wrongful because they invaded his privacy and intentionally caused him emotional distress. Grimes need not delve into Judkins’ motives.”
Feinerman gave the defendants until May 14 to file a response to the complaint.
Grimes is represented in the action by attorney Joanie Rae Wimmer, of Oak Park.
The county defendants are represented by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.