Transgender Woman Sues Georgia’s Lt. Gov.

ATLANTA (CN) - A transgender woman sued Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and the leaders of both legislative houses, claiming they fired her illegally after she informed them she would be making the transition to a female identity.

Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn, formerly known as Glenn Morrison, was hired by the Georgia General Assembly's Office of Legislative Counsel as a legislative editor in 2005. When she was hired, she appeared to be a man. That year, however, Glenn was diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder. Her health-care providers told her that gender transition, including real-life experience, was "medically necessary treatment for Glenn's GID."

On or around Halloween 2006, Glenn came to work dressed in a "red turtleneck sweater, a black knee-length skirt, black boots and tights." Sewell Brumby, a defendant and the General Assembly's legislative counsel, said she was "inappropriately dressed" and sent her home. "On that same day, two other employees in Glenn's office wore costumes to work. Brumby did not send those employees home," the complaint states.

Shortly after she told Brumby that she would undergo the transition and planned "to present herself as a woman in the workplace," Brumby met with Cagle, Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson, and Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson, who jointly decided to fire her, the complaint states. Glenn demands reinstatement and lost wages. She is represented by Gregory Nevins with the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund

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