Workplace Discrimination: Transgender Woman Urges Lawmakers to Pass Reforms

An undated handout photo released by Lambda Legal, July 22, 2008, shows ex-Georgia state employee Vandy Beth Glenn, formerly Glenn Morrison.

(Donovan Johnson/Lambda Legal/AP Photo)

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At issue in Glenn's case is whether or not discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is unconstitutional. Georgia law does not explicitly prohibit the practice.

Existing federal law prohibits employer discrimination based on age, sex, race, religion, national origin and disability -- but not sexual orientation or gender identity.

Still, Glenn's attorney says those protections apply in this case. He argues Glenn faced discrimination based on sex or "sex stereotypes" and based on her diagnosed medical condition -- situations which are prohibited under existing law.

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Glenn currently receives treatment for "gender identity disorder" – a classification recognized in the American Psychological Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual" – and is undergoing treatment to transition to living as a woman.

"It's a misconception that gender transition is a one-step process," Thaler told ABCNews.com. "The timing varies from person to person, and Vandy Beth had been in counseling and receiving hormone therapy," prior to her firing.

Her immediate supervisor had been aware of Glenn's condition and was "supportive." But in October 2007, as Glenn prepared to "present 24/7 as the woman she identifies with," her supervisor informed Brumby that Glenn intended to come to work dressed as a woman.

It was shortly thereafter that Brumby summoned Glenn to his office and fired her.

House lawmakers are currently considering the Employment Non-Discrimination Act -- a bill that would make discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgender people explicitly illegal.

"The law really needs to be explicit," Thaler told ABCNews.com. "Otherwise, we have to fight in every jurisdiction from scratch."