A transgender woman who was terminated by Liberty University will now have her day in court after a lawsuit was filed July 29 on her behalf by the ACLU of Virginia and Butler Curwood.
The federal lawsuit alleges that to terminate a person because they are transgender is to discriminate, a violation, the lawsuit alleges, of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.
Ellenor Zinski, 30, of Lynchburg, was hired by Liberty University to support the IT Helpdesk in February 2023. At her hire, she went by a male name, according to the lawsuit.
Her responsibilities were primarily assisting staff with troubleshooting classroom equipment. Occasionally, she would interact with students concerning IT issues. She had received positive reviews for her work and was told at her 90-day review that she was “on the path to success,” according to court documents.
On July 5, 2023, Zinski sent an email to human resources letting them know that she identified as a trans woman, had been undergoing hormone replacement therapy and intended to legally change her name soon. She did not request any accommodation from the university, the lawsuit states.
More than a month later, on Aug. 8, 2023, Zinski followed up with human resources who scheduled a meeting for later that day. At the meeting, she was given a letter that terminated her employment effective immediately. The letter, the lawsuit states, made it clear that her employment status was terminated on the basis of “denying biological and chromosomal sex assigned at birth.”
“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.”
Zinski told ABC News that as a Christian herself, she had hoped “that God’s love and acceptance would shine through. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
“It’s really hard to be rejected for something that you can’t change about yourself, for who I am on the fundamental level,” Zinski told ABC.
On its website, Liberty University has a doctrinal position that reads “sinful acts are prohibited by God and include but are not limited to … denial of birth sex by self-identification with a different gender.”
“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.”
Zinski has suffered mental anguish, pain, suffering and loss of income, according to the complaint.
“The first time anyone ever supported me by telling me that God made me this way was at Trinity Episcopal Church,” said 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.”
The lawsuit is seeking more than $300,000 in damages and reinstatement due to discrimination on the basis of sex. The lawsuit is also seeking declaratory relief that Liberty University’s police violates Title VII.
The lawsuit requests a trial by jury.
The 2020 Supreme Court case of Bostock v. Clayton County affirmed that Title VII protects LGBTQ employees from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Liberty University employees more than 12,000 people worldwide.
Liberty University is a member of the advisory board of Project 2025, a dangerous collection of conservative and right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation to reshape the United States federal government and consolidate executive power in the event that a Republican wins the 2024 presidential election.
More than two dozen people who served in former president Donald Trump’s administration put together Project 2025’s policy document.
Liberty University was founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. Falwell condemned homosexuality as forbidden by the Bible.
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Crystal Graham
