Liberty University is being sued by Ellenor Zinski, a former employee who was fired for being transgender in August 2023.
The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU on behalf of Zinski and claims that the university is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Zinski, who was born a male and now identifies as a trans woman, was hired as a full-time Information Services Apprentice at Liberty University’s help desk under a male name. According to the lawsuit, Zinski was “successful” at the job and “met Liberty’s legitimate employment expectations,” per bi-monthly performance reviews.
A few months into the job, Zinski sent an email to Liberty University’s human resources (HR) department requesting to be “identified as a trans woman.” Additionally, the email said that Zinski “had been undergoing hormone replacement therapy” and intended to pursue a legal name change.
Liberty University’s HR department responded three days later to inform Zinski that representatives would soon respond to the request and that Zinski should continue work as normal.
A month later, after feeling anxious from not receiving any correspondence from HR, Zinski followed up. This time, Zinski was informed that a meeting had been scheduled for that day.
The meeting was attended by Liberty University’s executive vice president of HR, Steve Foster, and chief information officer and executive vice president of analytics, John Gauger. During the meeting, the university “terminated” Zinski’s employment because of the gender transition.
The lawsuit argues that Zinski “experienced fear and anxiety” while waiting for a response from Liberty University’s HR department. The lawsuit claims that Zinski’s anxiety was so great that it caused vomiting. The suit further says that after Zinski felt “disbelief, emptiness, and hurt at being ostracized for being transgender” after being terminated.
Zinski is demanding a trial by jury and is seeking $300,000 in damages, including “back-pay damages, with pre-judgment interest at the prevailing rate.” Zinski also is asking for “equitable relief reinstatement, or front pay in lieu of same,” for the university to admit it violated Title VII, and for Liberty University to pay the acquired attorney fees.
