Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn is suing Ga. lawmakers in federal court after being fired as a state employee when she transitioned to living as a woman fulltime. (Photo by Matt Schafer)
Transgender woman sues Georgia lawmakers Federal lawsuit alleges unconstitutional bias in state job firing
A
transgender
woman
filed
a
federal
lawsuit
against
the
leaders
of
the
Georgia
General
Assembly
and
Sewell
Brumby,
legislative
council,
in
an
effort
to
get
her
job
back.
Vandiver
Elizabeth
Glenn
claims
she
was
fired
from
her
job
as
legislative
editor
because
of
her
transition
from
male
to
female.
A
lawsuit
filed
July
22
named
Speaker
of
the
House
Glenn
Richardson
(R-Hiram),
President
Pro-Tempore
of
the
Senate
Eric
Johnson
(R-Savannah),
Lt.
Gov.
Casey
Cagle,
lawyer
Brumby
and
Robyn
Underwood,
the
state’s
legislative
financial
officer.
“It
was
one
of
the
last
things
I
expected,”
Glenn
said
at
a
press
conference
July
22.
“I
knew
[transitioning]
would
surprise
everyone
in
the
office,
but
I
didn’t
think
[Brumby]
would
do
this.”
The
suit
claims
the
state
violated
the
14th
Amendment
to
the
U.S.
Constitution
guaranteeing
equal
protection,
in
part
because
firing
her
disregarded
her
need
to
undergo
transition
as
part
of
necessary
treatment.
“This
isn’t
really
about
me;
this
isn’t
really
about
transgender
people,”
Glenn
said.
“It’s
about
how
everyone
wants
to
be
treated
with
dignity
and
respect.”
In
October
2006,
a
year
after
Glenn
began
working
for
the
state,
she
said
that
she
informed
her
supervisor
Beth
Yinger
that
she
was
transsexual
and
wished
to
transition
from
male
to
female.
Glenn
was
diagnosed
with
gender
identity
disorder,
a
medical
condition
in
which
people
do
not
identify
with
their
biological
bodies.
Through
the
following
year,
Glenn
updated
Yinger
on
her
progress
while
she
continued
to
come
to
work
dressed
as
a
male.
She
lived
as
a
female
outside
work.
On
Oct.
16,
2007,
Brumby
fired
Glenn
after
confirming
she
was
transitioning.
When
she
asked
why
she
was
being
terminated,
she
said
Brumby
told
her
she
would
make
other
employees
uncomfortable
and
that
lawmakers
would
find
it
“immoral.”
Glenn
reported
difficulty
finding
a
job,
which
may
now
be
compounded
by
a
possible
trial
that
could
bear
out
the
private
details
of
her
life.
GA.
OFFERS
NO
PROTECTIONS
Georgia
has
no
employment
nondiscrimination
law,
and
as
a
result
Lambda
Legal,
a
national
gay
and
transgender
organization,
filed
the
suit
on
behalf
of
Glenn
in
the
federal
District
Court
for
the
Northern
District
of
Georgia.
“Georgia
is
an
at-will
state,
[and]
that
means
that
employees
can
be
fired
for
a
good
reason,
a
bad
reason
or
any
reason
at
all,
but
they
cannot
be
fired
for
an
illegal
reason,”
said
Cole
Thaler,
transgender
rights
attorney
for
Lambda
Legal’s
Southern
Regional
Office
based
in
Atlanta.
“The
Constitution
provides
that
public
employees
cannot
be
discriminated
against,”
Thaler
said.
“That
means
even
employees
in
an
at-will
state
can
assert
constitutional
protections
for
their
job.”
Glenn
is
attempting
to
regain
her
job
by
invoking
her
right
to
equal
protection
under
the
14th
Amendment
to
the
U.S.
Constitution.
Lambda
Legal
is
drawing
on
two
cases
out
of
Ohio
where
court
rulings
supported
the
right
of
transgender
government
employees
to
transition
and
keep
their
jobs.
Glenn
said
she
knows
of
four
other
transgender
employees
with
the
state
of
Georgia
who
have
transitioned
and
remain
in
their
positions.
Lambda
Legal
Supervising
Senior
Attorney
Gregory
Nevins
of
Atlanta
said
because
Glenn
worked
for
the
state,
she
had
greater
protections
than
if
she
worked
for
a
private
employer
in
Georgia.
Cagle,
Johnson
and
Richardson
could
not
be
reached
for
comment.
Since
Brumby’s
office
is
the
legal
representative
for
the
legislative
branch,
the
lawmakers
had
to
seek
outside
representation.
Thaler
said
the
firm
of
Holland
and
Knight
has
not
yet
responded
to
the
lawsuit.
Representatives
at
that
firm
did
not
return
calls
seeking
comment.
Nevins
said
naming
Richardson,
Johnson
and
Cagle
was
not
politically
motivated.
“It
was
our
information
both
through
what
Mr.
Brumby
told
Vandy
Beth
during
the
meeting,
and
what
was
told
to
her
even
prior
to
the
meeting,
that
they
would
be
consulted,”
Nevins
said.
“So
it
wasn’t
just
Mr.
Brumby
making
the
decision.
So
if
we
did
not
have
that
information,
we
wouldn’t
have
included
them.”
Richardson
and
Johnson
both
supported
the
2004
state
constitutional
amendment
banning
gay
marriage
in
Georgia.
Earlier
this
year,
Richardson
reportedly
refused
to
allow
the
House
to
consider
a
hate
crime
bill
that
would
have
included
protections
for
gender
expression
and
sexual
orientation.
GAY
LAWMAKER
‘NOT
SURPRISED’
The
state’s
only
gay
elected
lawmaker
Rep.
Karla
Drenner
(D-Avondale
Estates)
found
Brumby’s
reported
words
and
actions
disconcerting.
“[Speaking
for
myself]
who
can’t
even
get
a
privilege
resolution
passed
dealing
with
gay
issues
…
I
am
not
surprised,”
Drenner
said
of
the
alleged
motivation
for
the
firing.
Drenner
also
took
issue
with
the
idea
that
lawmakers
would
somehow
be
affected
by
Glenn’s
transition.
The
Legislative
Council’s
...
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
JSynegal on 7/25/0810:36 PM:
You know this is absolutely *?&@!ing ridiculous every time I think about it I get mad. Someone needs to show these bastards whose boss and it is high time that someone did. I wish it were me, honey, they would not have fired me and gotten away with it no sir ree. This is a prejudiced and ridiculous world and it is high time that someone did something about it. She needs to sue their *?&@!ing pants off. Give them something to think about. No protection laws my ass, this type of discrimination is wrong and the people know that it is wrong and they will be stopped.
MaryBrave on 7/25/0810:51 PM:
How did they know at the time he fired her that she would make other employees uncomfortable? Did he ask or did the lawmaker make a false accusation? Should it even make a difference.
Women in the workplace make some men uncomfortable, and it would be illegal to fire women based on their gender.
If they can get away with discriminating against her, they can get away with discriminating against women, blacks, other racial minorities, or even employees with certain religious affiliation.
MaryBrave on 7/26/089:25 PM:
What if things were opposite and that it was a gay legislator firing an employee because the employee came out as straight and the legislator making up an excuse that the straight employee would make other gay employees uncomfortable?
Mejan on 7/29/081:29 PM:
I to live in an "AT-WILL" state, and have worries of job discrimination because I am transitioning. In this world, with all of its wonder and glory, it is too bad that those with the power to make things better hide their heads in the sand and make things worse.
This is not what Jesus taught us when He was here!
