Appeals Court: No Special Rights for Transsexuals

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that transsexuals are not a protected class and affirmed a transportation company’s decision to terminate a male bus driver for planning to use public women's restrooms during work. Under pending legislation in Congress, the outcome could have been drastically different.Michael Etsitty was hired by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA), but later told his supervisor he was living as a female named Krystal.The bus company terminated Etsitty’s employment based on concerns that the use of women’s restrooms by a biological male wearing a UTA uniform could result in liability.Etsitty sued, claiming he was discriminated against because of his sexuality. The court said UTA’s decision constitutes a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the termination.However, under the proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) before Congress, the company likely would have had to keep Etsitty employed. ENDA would prohibit employers from making employment decisions based on an individual's “actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.”“It’s impossible to even estimate how much of our daily lives and laws are regulated by the fact that there are only two sexes and that those shouldn’t cross in certain areas — such as restrooms,” said Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action.“To somehow say that we’re going to blur the lines now and allow men to go into women’s restrooms causes all kinds of friction and social problems that, frankly, the law is not prepared to deal with," Hausknecht said.“Whether it’s a bus company or any other company, if it cannot make its decisions based on the best interest of the company, then it’s going to lose money, it’s going to lose customers, it’s going to lose public reputation."
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