Trans woman fired by Liberty University opens up about 'awful' discrimination

Ellenor Zinski had just come out to her Human Resources department at Liberty University when she received notice of her termination.

The IT help desk specialist had informed the university of her intention to legally change her name, and that she had started hormone therapy, but she assured the school that it would not impact her ability to do her job. Zinski knew that Liberty's strict Christian beliefs may be an obstacle, but hoped “that God's love and acceptance would shine through.”

“Unfortunately, that did not happen,” Zinski recently told ABC.

Zinski has since filed a lawsuit against Liberty, accusing officials of explicitly citing her gender when giving reason for her termination. Filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the lawsuit claims that the notice cited "'denying biological and chromosomal sex assigned at birth' as the basis for her termination, stating a conflict with Liberty’s Doctrinal Statement that names 'denial of birth sex by self-identification with a different gender' as a 'sinful act prohibited by God.'"

“I started crying. It was awful,” Zinski said. “It's really hard to be rejected for something that you can't change about yourself, for who I am on the fundamental level.”

While Zinski said she made "some friends" she was able to confide in, fear of retaliation prevented her from coming out sooner, which caused great physical and mental distress during her employment. She also noted some "office talk that would kind of bring me down," but insisted that "while I was working, I was just there to work, and I was not going to try and express my identity at all.”

The lawsuit is seeking $300,000 in compensatory damages for Zinski, as well as "declaratory relief that Liberty University’s policy violates Title VII." Zinski, who is a Christianand regularly attends a welcoming church in the area, believes that she should not have to sacrifice her beliefs for she is.

"The big thing is: being Christian is a choice that I made with my heart, but being transgender is who I am," she said. "There's no conflict between my faith and my identity."