LYNCHBURG, Va. (WFXR) – On July 29, a civil lawsuit was filed against Liberty University by the ACLU and Attorney Butler Curwood for discriminating against a transgender employee and violating Title VII.
Ellenor Zinski worked for Liberty University from February to July 2023 as an Information Services Apprentice at the IT Helpdesk.
According to court documents filed on Monday, she was successful in her role and was receiving positive feedback from her supervisors. Performance assessments stated she was “doing well and meeting or exceeding all of her metrics” and was “on the path to success.”
On July 5, 2023, Zinski sent an email to the university HR department notifying them that she identified as a trans woman and had undergone hormone replacement therapy. The university HR department emailed her back stating that they would respond to her email.
Over a month later, there was still no response and Ellenor began to feel anxious. She reached out to the university with a follow-up email on August 8, 2023, and a meeting was scheduled with the HR department later that same day.
During a meeting with the Chief Information Officer, the Executive VP of Analytics, and the Executive Vice President of HR, Ellenor was terminated from her position immediately. In a letter given to Zinski during the meeting, she was allegedly terminated because of her gender transition.
The lawsuit states Zinski was intentionally discriminated against based on sex, violating Title VII with the termination of her employment, and that she suffered and continues to suffer mental anguish, pain, suffering, loss of income, litigation expenses, medical expenses, consequential damages, and other injuries as a result.
Zinski is seeking a trial by jury, compensation in the amount of $300,000 plus back-pay damages, reinstatement, and attorney’s fees and costs.
