Transgender Lieutenant’s Pronoun Case Meets Wary 11th Cir. (1)

A transgender male corrections officer’s harassment case based on allegations that his co-workers mocked and deliberately misgendered him appeared on shaky ground after federal appeals court judges questioned whether he had enough evidence to proceed with a lawsuit.

During oral argument Tuesday, a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit repeatedly questioned counsel for Tyler Copeland on whether the alleged remarks about his gender identity fall short of a hostile work environment claim under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Copeland worked as a sergeant at Rogers State Prison in Reidsville, Ga., before later ...