Transgender bias case may set precedent
by Ann Rostow
PlanetOut Network


A federal court decision out of Utah may wind up making legal history in the six-state region covered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. The 10th Circuit, which includes Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming, has yet to confront a case of transgender discrimination in the workplace, but that will change.

The federal court will get the case because of a decision by U.S. District Court Judge David Sam, who ruled that the Utah Transit Authority had every right to fire a transitioning MTF staff member, Krystal Etsitty. Etsitty and her lawyers will appeal, most likely with the help of friends-of-the-court briefs from the LGBT legal community.