ACLU Criticizes Decision in Louisiana Transgendered Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 17, 2002

CONTACT:
Chris Hampton, ACLU, (212) 549-2673

NEW ORLEANS --- Late yesterday afternoon, a United States District Judge
decided that the federal ban on sex discrimination does not apply to
people who are transgendered. He then dismissed Peter Oiler's case
against the Winn-Dixie grocery store chain, even though Winn-Dixie never
claimed that Oiler's off-the-job cross-dressing interfered with his work
in any way.

Almost 15 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court said that laws against sex
discrimination prevent employers from firing a person who doesn't act
"like a man" or "like a woman." But that, the ACLU said, is just what
Winn-Dixie did. "We believe that courts will reject the idea that only
some people are protected from discrimination based on stereotypes about
sex," said Ken Choe, staff attorney with the ACLU's Lesbian and Gay
Rights Project.

Some courts already have moved past this cramped reading of civil rights
law, Choe said. Two states and about 40 cities have guaranteed that more
courts will do likewise by passing laws that specifically forbid
discrimination based on gender identity. In addition to that, more than
100 private employers have included gender identity in their employment
nondiscrimination policies.

Peter Oiler had worked for Winn-Dixie for 21 years, during which he
showed up for work on time, did a good job, and followed all the rules,
but in January of 2000 he was fired because he cross-dresses off-duty.
Oiler and his wife Shirley lost their health insurance, and nearly lost
their home. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on
Peter's behalf, charging that Winn-Dixie violated state and federal sex
discrimination laws.

"Discrimination based on gender identity is just as foolish and
wrongheaded as all the other practices that deny people jobs and homes on
account of something that has no bearing on ability or work ethic," said
Joe Cook, executive director of the Louisiana ACLU. "Sooner or later," he
added, "courts will recognize that people who do their jobs well should
not lose their jobs simply because they are transgendered. But people
like Peter Oiler will suffer until that day comes. We should speed the
process by passing federal and state laws now that specifically forbid
gender identity discrimination."

The case is Peter Oiler v. Winn-Dixie Louisiana, Inc. Civil Action No.
00-3114 (Sect. I). The ACLU's complaint in the case can be found at:
http://www.aclu.org/court/oiler_v_winndixie.html.

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Chris Hampton, Public Education Associate
Lesbian & Gay Rights Project and AIDS Project
American Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004
(212) 549-2673 voice, (212) 549-2650 fax