Transsexuals Are Not a Protected Group
A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that found transsexuals are not covered by federal discrimination laws. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Krystal Etsitty had no legal recourse in fighting her firing by the Utah Transit Authority in 2005.
The 44-year-old Salt Lake County resident was born a biological male and given the name "Michael." She has been diagnosed with Adult Gender Identity Disorder and always believed she was born with the wrong anatomical sex organs. Eventually, she began taking female hormones and living as a woman to prepare for sex reassignment surgery in the future. In the fall of 2001, Etsitty was hired as a UTA bus driver and presented herself as a man and used male restrooms during her training period, court records say. She later told her supervisor she was transsexual and would begin to appear more female.
She was fired in February 2002 after UTA's manager of operations and a human resources official said they were concerned about liability based on possible complaints from women about Etsitty using the same restroom. The officials said she was eligible for rehire after her surgery and denied any discriminatory motive.
The court, which sits in Denver, found that the trial judge was correct in finding that the transit authority feared it could be sued by people born biologically female if it were discovered Etsitty still had male genitals.
However, the court seemed to hedge a little by stating "[t]he conclusion that transsexuals are not protected under Title VII as transsexuals should not be read to allow employers to deny transsexual employees the legal protection other employees enjoy merely by labeling them as transsexuals," the ruling said. "If transsexuals are to receive legal protection apart from their status as male or female, however, such protection must come from Congress."
