Liberty University has filed a brief asking a federal district court to dismiss a lawsuit filed in Virginia by a former employee who said she was fired after disclosing she is a transgender woman.
Liberty University is a private evangelical Christian school in Lynchburg. It contends that the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 allows religious educational institutions to make employment decisions consistent with their religious doctrine.
The lawsuit, on behalf of Ellenor Zinski, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in July by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and the Richmond law firm of Butler Curwood. It alleges that she was fired last year from her job on Liberty’s Information Technology help desk solely because of her gender identify, in violation of the Civil Rights Act.
The brief filed by Liberty counsel alleges that Zinski attempted to “set up” the university, applying for the IT job four months after beginning to take female hormones yet agreeing — when offered the job in February 2023 — to adhere to the school’s statement rejecting transgender transition.
After her 90-day probation ended, Zinski notified the university of her gender transition process and then request that the school “depart from its doctrine and mission” to accommodate her situation.
Zinski’s lawyers say her firing is discriminatory.
Zinski, 30, said she was raised as a conservative Christian and attended a Christian high school. She said she took the job at Liberty hoping the university, which she had admired, would accept her even after learning of her transition. She now has a similar IT help-desk job at the University of Lynchburg.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages of $300,000 on behalf of Zinski, as well as a statement that the university’s handling of the case violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Audrey Carpenter is the Northern Virginia Bureau Chief for All Virginia News. She can be reached at: audreycarpenter@allvirginia.news
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