Feds: City misconstrues antibias law
by Timothy Cwiek, Philadelphia Gay News
http://epgn.com/view/full_story/24947119/article-Feds--City-misconstrues-antibias-law?instance=news_special_coverage_right_column#ixzz2zHeHqNSvThe U.S. Department of Justice has filed a "statement of interest" in the case of trans litigant Bobbie Burnett, contending the city construes antibias laws in a narrow manner that unfairly excludes transgender people.
Burnett, a city library assistant, is suing the city for pervasive workplace bias due to her sex and gender identity.
She alleges the city has limited her contact with the public, restricted her use of gender-appropriate restrooms, cited her for frivolous infractions and transferred her to undesirable work sites.
Burnett claims her workplace problems began in 2002, shortly after she began transitioning to the opposite gender.
She filed suit in 2009, alleging violations of city, state and federal laws protecting the transgender community.
In court papers, the city acknowledges that gender stereotyping against transgender individuals is banned by federal antibias laws.
But the city contends other forms of anti-transgender bias that don't involve gender stereotyping aren't banned by federal antibias laws.
The DOJ's 10-page statement, however, notes that being transgender is a form of gender nonconformity in and of itself.
The statement asserts that the city is construing antibias laws "too narrowly," resulting in an unfair exclusion of transgender individuals. It urges U.S. Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski to interpret antibias laws in a more inclusive manner.
