Jackson-Edney v. Labrador

In March 2026, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed into law HB 752, which makes it a crime for transgender people to use public restrooms consistent with their gender identity. The law makes the first offense a misdemeanor with up to one year in prison and a second offense a felony with up to five years in prison. It applies to all government-owned buildings and private businesses that are open to the public, such as libraries, rest stops, airports, malls, gas stations, restaurants, entertainment venues, hospitals, and other businesses.

The Idaho Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the Idaho Chiefs of Police Association opposed HB 752, noting there is no “clear or reasonable way” to determine a person’s sex at birth during a field contact without engaging in “invasive and inappropriate” questioning or searches.

In April 2026, six transgender Idahoans filed a class action lawsuit challenging the law on the grounds it violates their rights under the U.S. Constitution to due process, equal protection, and privacy. The challenge was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Idaho, and Lambda Legal.

“This law is a dangerous and discriminatory effort to push transgender people out of public life,” said Barbara Schwabauer, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “If you cannot use the restroom at work, you cannot go to work. If you cannot use the restroom at school, you cannot go to school. H.B. 752 undermines the freedom of our clients to live their lives with dignity, and we will do all we can to block it completely.”

Analyses of public safety data have found that policies inclusive of transgender people’s access to public accommodations have no impact on rates of harassment or violence, but policies restrictive of their access have increased transgender people’s already heightened risks for harassment and violence. Transgender people are four times as likely as their cisgender counterparts to be victimized by violence.

Nine states and Puerto Rico ban transgender people from using restrooms consistent with their gender identity in government buildings and 12 others have similar laws applying to K-12 public schools. Idaho’s H.B. 752 is the only state law applying to private businesses and – of the three states with criminal penalties attached to their bans – carries the steepest criminal charges in terms of prison sentences for violations.