Transgender employee rehired but won't be working

By Christian Boone

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Vandy Beth Glenn has her job back -- with salary, benefits and seniority -- but she won't be returning to work.

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Christian Boone, cboone@ajc.com Vandy Beth Glenn filed a federal lawsuit after was fired from her job with the Georgia General Assembly.

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An agreement reached Friday mandates the reinstatement of the transgender legislative editor for the Georgia General Assembly, fired nearly thee years ago after disclosing she was transitioning from a man. But Glenn's employer preferred she earn her paycheck from home, arguing that her presence in the office would be disruptive. Though she won't be working, Glenn will be fully compensated.

"There are a lot of factors going on," said Glenn's attorney, Greg Nevins. "At the end of the day, it was an offer worth taking."

Attorneys for Sewell Brumby, who fired Glenn, requested the arrangement in lieu of their appeal of Judge Richard Story's ruling last month that the transgender editor was a victim of sexual discrimination. Brumby is once again her boss, technically.

"I think there was probably some discomfort for everybody considering the appeal," Nevins told the AJC.

The arrangement stands until there's a ruling on that appeal, which could be years away, Nevins said.

Glenn, hired as Glenn Morrison in 2005, was later diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder, a psychiatric classification for people in conflict with their biological sex.

“It makes me think about things I don’t like to think about, particularly at work … I think it’s unsettling to think of someone dressed in women’s clothing with male sexual organs inside that clothing,” Brumby said in a deposition taken last year.