An employment
discrimination lawsuit brought by a transgender Army
veteran against the Library of Congress can go forward, a
federal court ruled on Friday. In the case of Diane
Schroer, the court found that sex may not be "a
cut-and-dried matter of chromosomes," ruling that
federal protections against sex discrimination may also
protect transgender people who are discriminated
against based on their gender identity.
"I couldn't
understand how the country that I had risked my life for
could believe that it was OK to rescind its job offer to me
solely because I'm transgender," said Schroer, a
25-year veteran. "Today's decision begins to restore
my faith in our government."
Schroer filed the
lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union on June
2, 2005. After retiring from the military, Schroer, who had
been handpicked to head up a classified national
security operation while serving as an Airborne
Ranger-qualified Special Forces officer, applied
for a position with the Library of Congress as the senior
terrorism research analyst. Soon thereafter she was
offered the job, which she accepted immediately. Prior
to starting work, Schroer took her future boss to
lunch to explain that she was in the process of
transitioning and thought it would be easier for
everyone if she simply started work presenting as
female. The following day, Schroer received a call from her
future boss rescinding the offer, telling her that she
wasn't a "good fit" for the Library of Congress.
In rejecting the
government's argument that discrimination against
transgender people is not sex discrimination, the U.S.
district court for the District of Columbia noted "the
factual complexities that underlie human sexual
identity. These complexities stem from real variations
in how the different components of biological
sexuality--chromosomal, gonadal, hormonal, and
neurological--interact with each other and in
turn with social, psychological, and legal conceptions
of gender."
The court held
that given these complexities, it may be that federal law
prohibits discrimination against transgender people because
it is a form of sex discrimination. The court will
rule on that question in the case after evidence about
the nature of gender and gender identity is developed.
"Today the court sent a very clear message to employers
everywhere that transgender discrimination won't be
tolerated in the workplace," said Sharon McGowan, a
staff attorney with the ACLU's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender Project.
The lawsuit
charges that the Library of Congress unlawfully refused to
hire Schroer in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act, which protects against sex discrimination in the
workplace. The Library of Congress moved to dismiss
the case claiming that transgender people are not
covered under Title VII. Today the court rejected those
claims, and the case will now proceed to trial.
(The Advocate)
