The case involves a transgender employee who has taken legal action against the organization that operates a downtown Ann Arbor shelter. The plaintiff, identified as Devion Morgan in court filings, lodged a claim in the Washtenaw County 22nd Circuit Court against the Washtenaw County Shelter Association, which manages the Robert J. Delonis Center. In that filing, Morgan seeks $25,000 plus related legal fees, alleging a pattern of workplace mistreatment tied to her gender identity and asserting that supervisory steps were insufficient to stop or remedy the problem.
Morgan’s complaint traces her trajectory from seasonal and part-time work to a full-time position, noting that she became a full-time operational specialist at the shelter in May 2026 after several months on a temporary basis. The suit describes repeated interactions with coworkers that she says involved derogatory language, intentional misgendering and disclosure of personal information about her identity to other staff. According to the complaint, those dynamics culminated in health problems for Morgan and ultimately kept her away from the workplace.
Allegations described in the complaint
The lawsuit lays out several specific allegations. Morgan reports that coworkers used demeaning terms, refused to respect her preferred pronouns and disclosed that she is transgender to others without her consent. She also describes an episode in which an email circulated among staff making accusations about her and discussing her identity, which a coworker alerted her to. After those episodes, Morgan says she told supervisors and, later, board members that she feared for her safety, asking for a workplace environment free from harassment.
Reporting and organizational response
Morgan’s filing details attempts to get management to intervene, including complaints to immediate supervisors and higher-level administrators. The complaint asserts that those reports were met with inadequate corrective action, and that taking paid time off prompted additional hostile treatment that required union involvement. In December, Morgan says she brought her concerns to the facility’s board, again expressing safety fears. The board subsequently launched an inquiry into the email, arranged employee training and issued an apology to Morgan, according to the court documents, but she contends those measures did not enable her to return to her position.
Health impacts and legal theory
Morgan claims the workplace circumstances produced tangible health effects, alleging elevated blood pressure and mental health conditions including PTSD and depression. The lawsuit frames those harms as consequences of a hostile work environment tied to discrimination against her gender identity. Legally, the complaint alleges violations of Michigan’s Civil Rights Act, asserting that the shelter’s conduct and the failures of managers to stop harassment amounted to unlawful discrimination and created an unsafe workplace.
Relief sought and potential implications
In seeking $25,000 plus legal costs, Morgan asks the court to recognize the wrongs she describes and to provide compensation for the damage to her health and career. Beyond the individual claim, the suit raises broader questions about how shelters and human services organizations handle staff complaints about harassment, how they protect employees with marginalized identities, and what remedies are appropriate when internal fixes do not restore safety.
Responses from the shelter and next steps
The shelter association’s executive director has publicly pushed back against the notion that harassment is tolerated at the facility. In response to the filing, the director emphasized the organization’s policy against harassment and indicated the association will participate in the judicial process as required. The complaint notes that Morgan’s attorney did not provide comment to a local news outlet when asked. Moving forward, the claim will proceed through the Washtenaw County 22nd Circuit Court, where facts will be examined and each party will make legal arguments about responsibility, damages and appropriate remedies.
What to watch
Observers monitoring the case may focus on how the court evaluates workplace responses to discrimination claims, the evidence presented about health impacts tied to alleged harassment, and whether the suit prompts changes in shelter policy or training. At its core, the dispute involves questions of employee safety, respect for gender identity, and the adequacy of institutional steps taken after complaints were raised.