SCHENECTADY – Desiree Pieniazek’s desire to be identified by Schenectady County as nonbinary has prompted the veteran corrections officer to file complaints against the county alleging discrimination and harassment by co-workers who learned of the request.
The county does not appear to have an explicit policy on nonbinary employees, a term that refers to a person whose gender identity falls outside the traditional gender binary or who doesn’t identify as male or female.
“Desiree was repeatedly told that [the county] would look into it, that they would handle it, that they would have a meeting, that they would draft a policy, that they would get back to Desiree, and they never did,” said Pieniazek’s attorney, Adam Grogan, with the Tully Rinckey firm.
