The bitter nationwide debate over transgender rights is playing out on a very personal level in a federal court lawsuit filed in Virginia by a former Liberty University employee. She was fired by the evangelical Christian school after disclosing her identity as a transgender woman.
The lawsuit on behalf of Ellenor Zinski was filed 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 identity, in violation of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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Earlier this month, the conservative legal organization Liberty Counsel filed a brief on behalf of the university asking the federal district court to dismiss the lawsuit. The brief contends that the Civil Rights Act explicitly permits religious educational institutions to make employment decisions consistent with their religious doctrine — in this case a doctrinal statement asserting that “denial of birth sex by self-identification with a different gender” is sinful.
Liberty University, based in Lynchburg, Virginia, has evolved over its five-decade history into one of the largest Christian universities in the world, with more than 100,000 students enrolled in its residential and online programs. One of its co-founders was the late Jerry Falwell Sr., the prominent televangelist and conservative activist; his son, Jerry Falwell Jr., served as president for 13 years before resigning in 2020 amid a series of personal scandals.
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.
Only after a 90-day probation ended did Zinski notify the university of the gender transition process and then request that the school “depart from its doctrine and mission,” Liberty Counsel said in an effort to get the lawsuit dismissed.
“All of this was done to set Liberty up and attempt to make an example out of the university for standing its ground,” contended Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel’s founder and chairman.
Wyatt Rolla, the ACLU of Virginia’s senior transgender rights attorney, rejected the claim of a set-up.
“It’s strange to disparage Ellenor over what turned out to be real concern with employment discrimination,” they said. “Her intention was to be a highly successful employee for Liberty who continued to meet all of her obligations.”
The trans woman suing Liberty had grown up admiring the university
Zinski, 30, says she was raised as a conservative Christian, attended a Christian high school, and took the job at Liberty hoping the university — which she had admired — would accept her even after learning of her transition. She had received a positive performance review after completing her probation.
“I was really hoping they would work with me ... that I could be myself,” she told The Associated Press. “I was hoping I could advocate for queer people. We need Jesus just as much as anyone else does.”
In her July 2023 letter to the university disclosing her transition, Zinski stressed that her Christian faith “has been a guiding force throughout this process.”
“The public discourse surrounding the transgender community has imbued my journey with a certain degree of trepidation,” she wrote. “However, I am hopeful that with your support and understanding, we can navigate this process with sensitivity and respect for all parties involved.”
Zinski received no immediate response to her letter, leading to what she described as intense anxiety.
After four weeks, she inquired about the status of her case and was promptly summoned to a meeting with Liberty human resources officials to be informed she was being fired. A lengthy email explaining the rational for the firing was read aloud to her at the meeting.
“Active and unrepentant patterns of sin, including sinful behaviors regarding sexual expression and/or gender expression, would be incompatible with our Christian workplace,” the email said.
What lies ahead for Ellenor Zinski — and her lawsuit?
Within a few months of her firing, Zinski was able to obtain a similar IT help-desk job at the University of Lynchburg, a small, private university. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a mainline Protestant denomination, and describes spiritual life on campus as “inclusive and open.”
“A lot of people at work have my back,” Zinski said.
She has also found support as an active member of Lynchburg’s Trinity Episcopal Church. It was at Trinity, she says, that she was first assured that “God made me this way.”
The next formal step in the case will be the filing of a brief by the ACLU of Virginia opposing Liberty Counsel’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Daniel Schmid, a Liberty Counsel lawyer working on this case, said there would likely be a hearing — and perhaps a decision — on the motion to dismiss before the end of this year. Yet the case could linger far beyond that, he said, if there are appeals eventually leading to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a phone interview with the AP, Schmid alluded to the so-called “ministerial exception” — which gives religious institutions protection against anti-discrimination lawsuits related to jobs with ministerial functions.
Even with IT staff and janitors, Schmid said, “Liberty considers them to be ministers of the Gospel. The First Amendment protects their right to make that call.”
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages of $300,000 on behalf of Zinski, as well as a declaration that the university’s handling of the case violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Zinski told the AP she has no desire to return to work at Liberty, at least under its current leadership.
“My biggest fear if I ever went back is knowing there are people who do not want me there at all,” she said. “I would not feel comfortable enough to work there.”
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