RICHMOND, Va. – Today the ACLU of Virginia and Butler Curwood filed a 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.
“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. “Workplace discrimination against transgender people is against the law, and it’s especially telling that Liberty University sees a practicing Christian’s gender identity as so antithetical to its mission that it was willing to flout the law in order to cast out one of its own.”
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.
But Ellenor’s anxiety about being discriminated against at work was so intense that she sometimes vomited. She used a tucked-away bathroom whose hallway’s exposed insulation meant it was rarely trafficked, and even during hot weather, she wore a branded Liberty jacket to deflect unwanted attention to her body.
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.”
“No matter your religious beliefs, it’s illegal sex discrimination to fire employees because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said ACLU of Virginia Dunn Legal Fellow Samantha Westrum. “Just because Liberty University has decided it wants to operate by a so-called ‘doctrinal statement’ doesn’t mean it’s not bound by federal law."
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. Today she is an active member of her local church, Trinity Episcopal, whose pastor fully supported her transition, even providing gender-affirming clothing.
“The first time anyone ever supported me by telling me that 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.
