On July 29, 2024 the ACLU of Virginia and Butler Curwood filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Ellenor Zinski, whom Liberty University fired in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 after she disclosed her identity as a trans woman.
Three months after Liberty University hired Ellenor Zinski to work at its IT Helpdesk in 2023, her supervisor assessed her performance as above average and told her she was “on the path to success.” When Ellenor notified Human Resources that she identifies as a trans woman and planned to legally change her name, she received no response for over a month before being called into a meeting with the heads of Liberty University’s Human Resources and Information Technology departments.
Liberty University officials read a termination notice aloud to Ellenor citing “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.” But Liberty University’s doctrinal statement does not exempt it from federal law.
“No one should be fired because of who they are – but Liberty University made it clear that’s exactly why it fired Ellenor,” said ACLU of Virginia Senior Transgender Rights Attorney Wyatt Rolla.
Ellenor is a devout Christian who is committed to Liberty’s mission of “preaching Christ.” Even from a young age, she saw church as a support system, attending church every Sunday, Bible study every Wednesday, and Bible camp every summer. “The first time anyone ever told me God made me this way was at Trinity Episcopal Church,” said Ellenor Zinski. “Christianity has been so weaponized against the LGBTQ community, but there doesn’t need to be a conflict: you can be transgender and Christian. I am.”
In addition to compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of Ellenor Zinski, the lawsuit is seeking declaratory relief that Liberty University’s policy violates Title VII.
