Deborah Yetter

@d_yetter

As a transgender man, Derek Guy expected his chosen career in social work to be one where colleagues would support his decision last year to transition from female to male.

"It generally is supposed to be an accepting field," said Guy, 25, who works for the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services in Louisville helping find adoptive homes for children.

But Guy said inappropriate comments by some supervisors and his discovery of text messages between two of them ridiculing him prompted him to file a grievance with the cabinet earlier this year, alleging harassment and discrimination.

"I was heartbroken," said Guy, whose complaint included screenshots of the text messages on a supervisor's cell phone referring to him as "he/she/it" and "him/her," along with profane language.

Guy's complaint said he saw the text messages after the supervisor gave her phone to one of his clients to use and the child found and showed him the messages.

In August, human resources officials with the cabinet determined no harassment or discrimination occurred against Guy. But they substantiated "instances of inappropriate behavior in the workplace" and recommended diversity training for three supervisors, according to personnel records the Courier-Journal obtained through open records law.

Also, on Oct. 3, after further investigation, the cabinet suspended the supervisor who loaned her phone to the child while he was at the cabinet office in Louisville waiting for social workers to find him a placement.

The supervisor, Jill McKinney, was suspended two days without pay for "inappropriate and unprofessional behavior while in the workplace" by allowing the child to use her personal cell phone, according to cabinet records. Though the child was supposed to use the phone to access Facebook, the child had access to other material on the phone including text messages and an app for "sexual positions," the records said.

Guy's complaint also involves two other supervisors, one who exchanged the messages about him with McKinney and another supervisor he alleged made inappropriate comments, asking him for personal details about his transition and its impact on his family.

The investigation found that supervisor Barbara Beard did make inappropriate comments at work and required her to undergo diversity training. It also said her case is being reviewed for possible disciplinary action.

As for the text messages ridiculing Guy, neither McKinney nor the other supervisor involved in the exchange, Jeff Culver, was disciplined because the exchanges took place outside business hours on their personal cell phones. But the cabinet investigation recommended training on "management of a diverse workforce" for both Culver and McKinney, according to the records.

None of the three supervisors responded to requests for comment.

Jean West, communications director for the cabinet, said officials don't comment on personnel actions.

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State personnel guidelines state that Kentucky's policy is to provide equal employment opportunity to people without discrimination because of "race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity, ancestry, age, disability, veteran status or genetic information."

Guy said he was disappointed with the outcome of the investigation because it did not establish discrimination or harassment at work. He said he has since filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission in Louisville, alleging discrimination.

Meanwhile, he said he has filed more grievances with the cabinet over retaliation he alleges occurred after he filed his first complaint. Guy alleges he was given extra work assignments after he filed the complaint and criticized for wearing a T-shirt to work that read "This is what Trans looks like."

Guy said he believes his T-shirt upset supervisors because he wore it work on the day Gov. Matt Bevin visited the office.

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Cabinet records say officials are still investigating additional grievances filed by Guy.

Guy began work at the cabinet as a social worker in April 2015, while he still identified as female. He said he informed his supervisors in July 2015 that he planned to transition to the male gender.

While most of his co-workers were understanding, Guy said he began to experience what he thought were inappropriate comments and jokes from some supervisors. Though he had legally changed his name from Kelsea Guy to Derek Guy, some continued to call him Kelsea and refer to him as "her" or "she," he said.

But he didn't file a complaint until he came across the text messages in January. In his complaint, Guy alleged the workplace had become "hostile, inappropriate, demeaning, harassing and quite frankly, scary."

"I didn't choose to be transgender," he said in the complaint. "I would never want these kinds of problems for anyone ... I am afraid for what this means for the future of LGBT people within this organization if not handled properly."

In the interview, Guy said the experience has not affected how he feels about his job helping find adoptive families for children who have been removed from homes because of abuse or neglect.

"I love my job," he said. "I love working with my kids. I love finding permanent homes for these kids - they have been through so much. It's a great experience when they finally find a home with someone who loves and cares about them."

Contact reporter Deborah Yetter at (502)582-4228 or at dyetter@courier-journal.com