Liberty University asks courts to dismiss lawsuit from trans former employee

[Jessica_Rose]

Liberty University asks courts to dismiss lawsuit from transgender former employee

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/liberty-university-asks-courts-to-dismiss-lawsuit-from-transgender-former-employee/ar-AA1NGLR6?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=cd6b7852d1374d6badd8c989fa794258&ei=87 🔗 [Link: msn.com/en-​us/news/us/liberty-​university-​asks-​courts-​to-​dismiss-​lawsuit-​from-​transgender-​former-​employee/ar-​AA1NGLR6/]

Amy DeLaura (1 Oct 2025)

Counsel for Liberty University is asking the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to drop a lawsuit from a former employee who is accusing the university of transgender discrimination. The Christian university argues it has the right to fire someone who goes against its doctrinal statement.

The case of Zinski v. Liberty University started when Ellenor Zinski sued the private, evangelical university in Lynchburg, Virginia, for firing Zinski when the female-identifying biological male began to transition.

Liberty Counsel filed a reply brief on Tuesday, specifically arguing that as a Christian employer, Liberty University has the right to employ only people who abide by its doctrinal statement, which all employees sign at the time of hiring. Mat Staver, Liberty Council founder and chairman, aims to prove to the courts that Zinski baited the university into the lawsuit by intentionally violating the doctrinal statement as well as policies regarding the biblical understanding of gender.

In February, U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon ruled in favor of Zinski. The... appointee wrote that Zinski's employment at Liberty University does not interfere with the school's religious views.

"Liberty's continued employment of Zinksi does not significantly burden Liberty's ability to maintain its views and associate for its expressed purposes," Moon wrote in his opinion. "The only inference that we can draw for Liberty is that Liberty may be seen as a hypocrite for employing a transgender person when it opposes transgender identity; but the same could be said for Liberty's employment of any other type of person who 'sins' despite Liberty's opposition to sin in general."