In a decision issued on December 6, 2011, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which has jurisdiction over Florida) has ruled that an employer may not discriminate against a transgender employee on the basis of gender non conformity. That case, Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn v. Sewell R. Brumby, -- F. 3d - , 2011 WL 6029978 (December 6, 2011) (11th Cir. 2011), makes clear that employers can be liable for sex or gender discrimination in taking adverse action against a transgender or transsexual, as with any employee, on the basis of the employee's failure to comply with gender-based behavioral norms and gender stereotypes.
The Plaintiff in Glenn was born a biological male, and in 2005 was diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder ("GID"). Starting in 2005, Glenn began taking steps to transition from male to female. In 2006, Glenn advised her direct supervisor that she was a transsexual and in the process of becoming a woman. After Glenn advised her supervisor in 2007 that she was ready to proceed with gender transition and would begin coming to work as a woman, Defendant Brumby terminated Glenn because "Glenn's intended gender transition was inappropriate, that it would be disruptive, that some people would view it as a moral issue, and that it would make Glenn's coworkers uncomfortable."
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