Fired for Sex Change, Vandy Beth Glenn Fights Back and Wins

by Adam Amir · 2010-07-13 15:57:00 UTC
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Vandy Beth GlennAfter Vandy Beth Glenn bravely told her supervisors at the Georgia State Assembly that she was transgender, the head of the Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC), Sewell Brumby, fired her. In court, Brumby defended himself, arguing that Glenn’s transition from male to female “evidenced instability in her life” and could lead her to “violate the confidentiality of the Office of Legal Counsel’s work.” But most relevant to Glenn’s job performance was the threat of her transgender identity making colleagues “uncomfortable.”

What probably ended up making Brumby a bit more uncomfortable was having a federal court deem his actions unconstitutional. According to U.S. District Court Justice Richard Story, Brumby’s decision to fire Glenn constituted sex-based discrimination and thus violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

Glenn had worked as an editor in OLC for two years before telling her immediate supervisor, Beth Yinger, about her plans to transition to female in 2006. Glenn, who sought medical treatment for her Gender Identity Disorder, presented Yinger with medical documentation and photographs depicting Glenn as a woman.

When the documentation reached Brumby, he asked Glenn to confirm her decision, and fired her immediately. Represented by Lambda Legal, Glenn brought a federal lawsuit against the Georgia Assembly in 2008, and the Court ruled in her favor last week.

"This is a major victory for all transgender people across the country,” she said in a Lambda Legal press release. “I hope that a federal discrimination law will follow in its wake.”

Unfortunately, anti-LGBT discrimination runs rampant, particularly without federal law to protect LGBT workers. According to a Williams’ Institute study, up to 70% of transgender individuals reported workplace discrimination. Even worse, these numbers are likely underestimated. To avoid encountering discrimination, LGBT people sometimes stay closeted at work or self-select more LGBT-friendly careers.

While Glenn’s experience may be common, her decision to pursue the discrimination in court is not. According to the Transgender Law Center, a mere 15% of those reporting discrimination or harassment had filed a complaint. While Glenn sued on the basis of sex discrimination, we need law explicitly protecting gender identity and expression, especially since some judges do not believe that the Civil Rights-era prohibition on sex-based discrimination covers LGBT people.

Protect people like Vandy Beth Glenn from wanton workplace transphobia and homophobia. Urge Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act today.

Photo credit: U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor

Adam Amir is a Harry S. Truman Scholar and recent graduate of the University of Florida. He will work for the New York City Mayor as a part of the Urban Fellows program.
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