ALBANY (AP) - An administrative judge has ordered the New York State Thruway Authority to pay more than $55,000 to a transgender woman who says she was subjected to a hostile workplace.

Mackenzie Valentine is a former Army dispatcher and military police officer who worked for the Thruway Authority in Albany.

A judge with the state's Division of Human Rights said in a decision signed in late December that the Authority tolerated a work atmosphere in which workers felt free to make disparaging remarks about Valentine.

The 29-year-old was ultimately fired by the Authority. She declined an interview request.

A Thruway spokeswoman says the agency disagreed with the judge's findings and would appeal.