SCHROER V. BILLINGTON (2008)

In 2004, the Library of Congress rescinded Diane Schroer’s job offer on learning that she was in the process of transitioning from male to female. In Schroer v. Billington, the ACLU, acting as Schroer’s counsel, urged the court to find that the library’s actions violated Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sex. Despite multiple appellate courts’ prior refusals to find statutory protection for trans employees, the Court agreed with the ACLU, holding that the library’s actions amounted to impermissible sex stereotyping, as well as a violation of the most literal reading of the text of Title VII. Schroer was awarded the maximum damages allowed, marking a significant personal victory and a deeper societal understanding of what it means to be protected from discrimination on the basis of sex.