Source: Washington Blade
A federal judge late Wednesday denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit charging that the Library of Congress engaged in sex discrimination by refusing to hire a transgender women as an anti-terrorism expert despite her recognized qualifications for the job.

United States District Court Judge James Robertson ruled that former U.S. Army Special Forces Officer Diane Schroer has legal grounds to file a sex discrimination claim against the library under Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“Title VII is violated when an employer discriminates against any employee, transsexual or not, because he or she had failed to act or appear sufficiently masculine or feminine enough for an employer,” Robertson stated in a 14-page decision.

In August 2004, Schroer, a 25-year Army veteran, accepted an offer by the Library of Congress’s Congressional Research Service for a position as a senior terrorism research analyst after completing an application and interview process.

Schroer applied for the position under her former male name and appeared for her interview in male clothing. During a meeting with CRS official Charlotte Preece following the division’s decision to hire her, Schroer revealed that she was transitioning into a woman and would begin her job using her new name and as a woman dressed in traditional female attire.

Schroer’s lawsuit states that on the following day, Preece informed Schroer by phone that library officials decided Schroer would not be a “good fit” for the job, based on the information revealing her change of gender. Preece told her then that the job offer had been rescinded, the lawsuit states.

Robertson’s decision denying the library’s motion to dismiss the entire case allows Schroer’s lawsuit to go forward, with a trial expected to begin sometime in 2008 on the question of whether the library based its decision not to hire her on sex discrimination or improper gender stereotyping.

While ruling that the case can continue, Robertson approved separate motions by the library calling for dismissal of two other claims made by Schroer’s lawsuit — that the library’s refusal to hire her violated her constitutional right to due process and violated the Library of Congress Act.