The following news release was issued jointly by ACLU-DC and WilmerHale.
After four years of litigation, a veteran DC corrections officer today settled a lawsuit challenging anti-gay discriminatory and retaliatory conduct at the DC Department of Corrections, securing a half-million-dollar settlement from the District of Columbia.
The lawsuit, filed in 2021 on behalf of Sgt. Deon Jones by the ACLU of the District of Columbia and international law firm WilmerHale, alleged that the Department of Corrections, including supervisors and co-workers, subjected Sgt. Jones to discrimination, retaliation, and a hostile work environment because of his identity as a gay man, in violation of the DC Human Rights Act.
Jones, now a 28-year veteran of the Department and nearing retirement, faced years of verbal abuse and harassment from coworkers and incarcerated people alike, including anti-gay slurs, threats, and degrading treatment. When he sought to carry out his job duties, he was met with hostility and retaliatory actions from supervisors that worsened his working conditions and put his safety at risk. The prolonged mistreatment took a severe toll on Jones’s mental health, and he experienced depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and 15 anxiety attacks in 2021 alone.
“For years, I showed up to do my job with professionalism and pride, only to be targeted because of who I am. This settlement affirms that my pain mattered — and that creating hostile workplaces has real consequences,” said Sgt. Deon Jones. “For anyone who is LGBTQ or living with a disability and facing workplace discrimination or retaliation, know this: you are not powerless. You have rights. And when you stand up, you can achieve justice.”
“This case underscores a basic principle: no one should have to endure harassment or retaliation on their job because of who they are,” said Scott Michelman, Legal Director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia. “Accountability matters, and hostile and discriminatory workplace cultures cannot be tolerated.”
“After years of hard-fought litigation, this settlement delivers Sgt. Jones a measure of compensation for the nightmare he was forced to endure,” said WilmerHale partner Ericka Aiken. “It sends a clear message: employers have a duty to ensure workplaces are free from abuse—and ignoring that duty carries real consequences.”
Today’s settlement agreement may be found here: https://www.acludc.org/app/uploads/2026/02/Deon-Jones-Settlement-Agreement_Signed.pdf
More information on this case, Jones v. District of Columbia, may be found here: https://www.acludc.org/cases/jones-v-district-columbia/