Maybe this is why the Justice Department doesn’t have time to look into the scandal at the IRS.

Scott Jaschik of Inside Higher Ed reports.

Tenure Denied for Being Trans?

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday sued Southeastern Oklahoma State University, charging that it denied tenure to Rachel Tudor, effectively firing her in 2011, over her identity as a transgender woman.

The suit is a strong federal endorsement of the idea that transgender status can be a cause for illegal discrimination.

Tudor was hired in 2004, at the time identifying as a man. In 2007, she started to present herself as a woman. The Justice Department lawsuit outlines a series of issues that point to discrimination against her in a tenure bid. According to the suit:

• A vice president of the university asked a human resources employee whether Tudor could be fired because her gender identity offended his religious beliefs. (The human resources official answered in the negative, but the vice president played a role in Tudor’s tenure review.)
• A dean, in a meeting with Tudor about her tenure bid, repeatedly referred to her as “him” despite being told of her status and despite her being in the room.
• A tenure review committee in her department (English) and her chair recommended her for tenure and found she met all the university’s criteria.
• The dean and vice president referenced above reversed that decision without offering an explanation.
• Both the dean and the vice president refused to meet with Tudor to discuss her case so she could appeal to the president for tenure. In refusing to meet her, they broke with practice at the university of holding such meetings, which have resulted in non-transgender people winning tenure.