In a case that could have significant ramifications for religious freedom, Liberty University is facing a federal lawsuit after the school terminated a trans-identified employee.
The lawsuit was filed on July 29 by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia on behalf of Ellenor Zinski, the individual who was fired.
The plaintiff alleges that the university violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
Liberty University hired Zinski in February 2023 to support the school’s IT Helpdesk. He disclosed his gender identity to the human resources department in July of the same year, informing the university that he was undergoing hormone replacement therapy and planned to legally change his name, according to the Augusta Free Press.
The university terminated Zinski less than a month later. The termination letter explicitly referred to his “denying biological and chromosomal sex assigned at birth” as the reason for the dismissal.
The ACLU of Virginia argued that “no one should be fired because of who they are,” accusing the school of violating federal anti-discrimination laws.
Wyatt Rolla, Senior Transgender Rights Attorney with the organization, said in a statement:
“Workplace discrimination against transgender people is against the law, and it’s especially telling that Liberty University sees a practicing Christian’s gender identity as so antithetical to its mission that it was willing to flout the law in order to cast out one of its own."
Zinski, who identifies as a Christian, told ABC News that “[i]t’s really hard to be rejected for something that you can’t change about yourself, for who I am on the fundamental level.”
He said he had hoped “God’s love and acceptance would shine through. Unfortunately, that did not happen.”
Zinski seeks to regain his position at the university and win a significant settlement.
The lawsuit is seeking more than $300,000 in damages and reinstatement due to discrimination on the basis of sex. The lawsuit is also seeking declaratory relief that Liberty University’s police violates Title VII.
The lawsuit requests a trial by jury.
The 2020 Supreme Court case of Bostock v. Clayton County affirmed that Title VII protects LGBTQ employees from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Liberty University employees more than 12,000 people worldwide.
Liberty University has a doctrinal stance that views transgenderism as contrary to its religious beliefs and teachings. On its website, the school’s doctrinal statement includes a section on “sinful acts” which mentions “denial of birth sex by self-identification with a different gender.”
The university has not yet issued a public response to the lawsuit. But it will likely argue that as a religious institution, it has the right to make employment decisions based on its religious values, which it certainly should.
Religious freedom is protected under the First Amendment, meaning that religious institutions cannot be compelled to associate with those who do not adhere to their values. It is this freedom the hard left has sought to infringe upon by using the court system. It is similar to progressive efforts to target Jack Phillips, a Christian baker in Colorado who refused to bake a cake for a gay wedding.
Liberty University, as a private Christian institution, has the right to maintain employment practices consistent with its religious beliefs and should not be compelled to employ or associate with those who do not hold to those beliefs. It would be like forcing a Muslim organization to employ a Christian, an action the ACLU would never dream of taking.
Hopefully, the court rules in favor of religious liberty instead of allowing progressives to use the legal system to force their views on others.
