Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita weighed in Wednesday on a politically charged transgender issue, issuing an advisory opinion that declares that neither state nor federal law requires the usage of preferred pronouns in the workplace.
However, the opinion notes that repeatedly misgendering someone could amount to a “hostile work environment” under federal discrimination law.
“No federal court has found occasional misuse of pronouns alone, even if intentional, to be actionable discrimination or create a hostile work environment under Title VII,” the opinion states. “However, repeated, continuous, intentional misuse could create such an environment under the right circumstances, and each case is looked at on an individual basis.”
In a Facebook live stream event, Rokita said he weighed in because of issues and concerns raised by state Rep. Mike Speedy, who is seeking the GOP nomination for Sixth District Congress against six other candidates.
Speedy, who appeared with Rokita on the Facebook live event, said that he has been on tours of businesses in central Indiana and became concerned.
“I don’t believe this opinion in any way infringes on anyone’s rights to be who they think they are,” Speedy said. “What it does, protects employers, from those, that ideology from being imposed upon them in a workplace environment. And that’s fair to everyone. That’s why I brought this,” Speedy said.
Rokita added: “We have to ensure that we have a workplace that’s not hostile to everyone.”
Rokita’s opinion comes just a few days before the May 7 primary, which features Speedy’s Sixth District congressional race, and just a few days after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that workplace bias laws cover preferred bathrooms and pronouns.
The commission on Monday said employers refusing to use transgender workers’ preferred pronouns and barring them from using bathrooms that match their gender identity amounts to unlawful workplace harassment under federal anti-discrimination law, Reuters reported.
Democrats react
Democrat candidate for Indiana Attorney General Beth White, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for state attorney general, called the time Rokita spent on the opinion “wasted tax dollars.”
“Todd Rokita and Mike Speedy are so obsessed with pronouns that they wasted tax dollars to create division where it simply doesn’t exist. This is yet another sign that Todd Rokita is unfit to serve as Attorney General,” White said in written remarks. “As attorney general, I’ll focus on the right fights, like protecting your access to healthcare, keeping your families safe, and behaving with integrity.”
Destiny Wells, who is running against White for the party’s nomination, agreed with her Democratic opponent.
“As Indiana’s chief legal officer, Hoosiers expect Todd Rokita to meet a high moral standard,” Wells said. “Unfortunately Rokita is using Hoosier taxpayer dollars and state assets to campaign for himself and his friends seeking higher office which reeks of corruption and self dealing.”
The Indiana Democratic Party stated both Rokita and Speedy used tax payer money for political purposes.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.