Judge to rule in transgender case brought against U.S.

A federal judge will decide if a U.S. Customs and Border Protection employee who has undergone a sex change suffered discrimination at the hands of co-workers, after a six-day trial concluded Tuesday.

Tracy Nichole Sturchio, formerly known as Ronald Sturchio, sued the Department of Homeland Security.

The non-jury trial was heard by U.S. District Judge Robert H. Whaley in Spokane, who will rule in the near future.

Sturchio, 56, told the Associated Press on Tuesday it was difficult to relive the torment of the past few years during the trial.

“I had to sit on the stand and admit it tore me apart so bad I even lost confidence in myself,” Sturchio said. “It’s hard to admit that somebody beat you down like that.”

Attorneys for the federal government had argued that past decisions held that transsexuals were not members of a protected class under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That landmark federal law made it unlawful to discriminate against a person because of their sex, religion, race or national origin.

The government contended that Sturchio, in her lawsuit, never identified her sex, contending only that she was a “transgender person.”

In an earlier decision, Whaley said it was clear she was being harassed because her co-workers wanted her to act like a male.

Sturchio said her new bosses at the agency’s office in Spokane are much more positive and she is no longer being harassed. But she is still glad she filed the lawsuit.

“I had to stand up,” she said. “I am who I am and I couldn’t have lived with myself if I just ran.”

Sturchio said her family, friends and co-workers helped her through the ordeal, with special assistance from her wife of 28 years.

“She’s not about to let me go,” Sturchio said.

Sturchio was born a male, but has been diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder, according to court documents. She has been on hormone therapy and last August underwent sexual reassignment surgery in Colorado, she said.

Sturchio’s lawsuit said she was not allowed to wear a dress to work or use the women’s restroom, and was subjected to sexual harassment and workplace discrimination starting in 2000.

The lawsuit seeks $500,000 for compensatory and punitive damages, along with an unspecified amount for mental anguish and emotional distress.

Sturchio has been employed by the former Border Patrol since 1991, and has worked at the Spokane office since 1998. She is a telecommunications specialist at the office in Spokane.

Sturchio supervised a crew of four employees assigned to install and maintain the patrol’s telecommunications equipment, the lawsuit said.