11th Circuit: Trans discrimination is sex discrim.

[cestlefun17]

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in Glenn v. Brumby in favor of Ms. Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn. Ms. Glenn was fired by her state employee because she was transitioning to a woman. The Court held that such actions violated the Equal Protection Clause's protections against sex discrimination.

We conclude that a government agent violates the Equal Protection Clause’s prohibition of sex-based discrimination when he or she fires a transgender or transsexual employee because of his or her gender non-conformity.

[Random Guy]

Finally, some good news for a change. It was way past time gender identity got added to the list.

[lighthorseman]

I can think of situations I would side with the employer, but they're pretty unlikely.

[cestlefun17]

What would those be?

[lighthorseman]

like if you hired a female stripper, who then transitioned to male, like I said, unlikely.

[cestlefun17]

like if you hired a female stripper, who then transitioned to male, like I said, unlikely.

This is a legitimate exception :-P. There are always legitimate exceptions, particularly when it comes to casting. If you need a white female to play a certain role, you can't be sued for not casting a black man.

[Kit Walker]

Dec 7, 2011 7:30:43 GMT -5 lighthorseman said:

like if you hired a female stripper, who then transitioned to male, like I said, unlikely.

And LHM demonstrates he's never heard of the concept of a "bona fide occupational qualification", which would be excepted from discrimination laws.

[N. De Plume]

Dec 7, 2011 10:31:29 GMT -5 cestlefun17 said:

like if you hired a female stripper, who then transitioned to male, like I said, unlikely.

This is a legitimate exception :-P. There are always legitimate exceptions, particularly when it comes to casting. If you need a white female to play a certain role, you can't be sued for not casting a black man.

I seem to recall hearing that some jurisdictions have, on occasion, allowed just that. Don’t have any specific examples handy right now, though, so that’s just hearsay at the moment.

[Vene]

The last time I heard about this case was July 2010, good to know that a higher court agreed.

[Oriet]

I'm glad a court has ruled on this, because discrimination against transfolk really is sex discrimination. As is not allowing same sex couples to marry, for that matter. Or not allowing men to wear a skirt to work (at least when women are, as some jobs just cannot allow for loose, flowy clothing like skirts). Or any other such differences based only on what (they think) the person's genitals are.

[ETA]

Dec 7, 2011 10:31:29 GMT -5 cestlefun17 said:

like if you hired a female stripper, who then transitioned to male, like I said, unlikely.

This is a legitimate exception :-P. There are always legitimate exceptions, particularly when it comes to casting. If you need a white female to play a certain role, you can't be sued for not casting a black man.

Actually, a lot of strip clubs have it that the strippers are private contractors. Not only does this put the onus of reporting wages for taxes on the strippers and not the club, it also means they do not have to provide benefits, as well as they get to take a cut from private dances and charge them a fee for any night they come in to work (as they're technically renting the space to them then). This also means they don't have to worry about employee protection should they decide to stop letting one of the people dance, and also don't have to worry about a stipper not making enough money to cover expenses as the stripper will quickly stop working there on their own when they can't afford to.

Now, some places do actually hire and pay by the hour, and as such they would still be allowed to fire someone who plans to transition because of how important the stripper's body is for the job. So yes, you are correct, but also incorrect in a lot of cases because it often works incredibly different from most places of work.

[Admiral Lithp]

Hey, if he can do it, & is willing to put up with Make-Up Department Hell, I'll cast a black man as a white woman.

[lighthorseman]

Othello has been played by plenty of white guys, after all.

[DarkfireTaimatsu]

Dec 8, 2011 0:04:03 GMT -5 Admiral Lithp said:

Hey, if he can do it, & is willing to put up with Make-Up Department Hell, I'll cast a black man as a white woman.

Oh god, please don't.