Court Rejects Transsexual Discrimination Suit
The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has rejected the claim of a transsexual bus driver that his/her firing was discriminatory. In doing so, the court held that transsexuals are not within the classes of employees protected from discrimination by Title VII.
The plaintiff, Michael Etsitty, suffers from Adult Gender Identity Disorder. Etsitty was born a biological male but considers himself a woman.
During training, Etsitty identified himself as a male and used the men’s restroom. After he was hired, however, Etsitty informed his supervisor that he is a transsexual and that he would be undergoing gender reassignment surgery. Etsitty started wearing makeup, jewelry, acrylic nails, identifying himself as “Krystal” and using the women’s restroom.
The bus company, citing liability concerns over a biological male using the women’s restroom, fired Etsitty. Etsitty sued, claiming gender discrimination.
The court denied Etsitty’s claims. First, it refused to recognize transsexuals as a protected class, stating that “like all other employees, such protection extends to transsexual employees only if they are discriminated against because they are male or because they are female.”
The court also rejected Etsitty’s argument that the bus company fired him for not conforming to male gender stereotypes. The court found no evidence that the company had anything other than a legitimate nondiscriminatory liability concern for firing him.
