Transgender woman wins ‘victory for all workers’

By Dianne Mathiowetz
Atlanta

Dec 21, 2011

A significant legal victory for trans and gender nonconforming workers was recently won in a case brought by Vandy Beth Glenn. A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously on Dec. 6 that Georgia Legislative Services had discriminated against Glenn when it fired her in 2007. Glenn went back to work on Dec. 9.

Vandy Beth Glenn Photo: ProjectQAtlanta

The decision stated: “All persons, whether transgender or not, are protected from discrimination on the basis of gender stereotype. … An individual cannot be punished because of his or her perceived gender nonconformity.”

In 2005, Glenn Morrison was hired as a proofreader and copy editor of legislative bills for the Georgia General Assembly. That same year, Glenn began medical treatment to transition from male to female. By 2007, she notified her immediate supervisor that she would begin to wear women’s clothing to work. Legislative counsel Sewell Brumby, who oversaw the department, called her into his office and fired her on the spot.

Lambda Legal took Glenn’s case and filed a discrimination lawsuit in federal district court in July 2008. Brumby testified that he found the idea “unnatural” and asserted that others in the General Assembly would regard it as “immoral.” He further stated that he was concerned that Georgia would be seen as “liberal” or “ultraliberal” if she continued to work for the state. More than two years later, in August 2010, the judge ruled in Glenn’s favor. The state of Georgia appealed.

During Glenn’s four-year struggle to fight back against blatant bigotry and discrimination, she has testified before Congress about the need for the revised Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a federal law that would outlaw discrimination against LGBT people. First introduced in 1994, ENDA was originally designed to prevent discrimination based on sexuality and, after a struggle by progressive forces, was expanded to include discrimination based on gender identity in 2007. The newer version has yet to pass either house of Congress. Glenn is also campaigning for HB 630, a proposed Georgia statute that would provide workplace protections for LGBT state workers.

In an interview with this writer, Glenn shared her happiness with the court’s decision but stated clearly that “this is a victory for all workers.”

Dianne Mathiowetz is the host of The Labor Forum program on WRFG 89.3FM in Atlanta, airing from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. She interviewed Vandy Beth Glenn on Dec. 7 about the legal victory and its ramifications for all workers.