Transsexual gets damages for lost job

WASHINGTON, April 29 (UPI) -- A Washington judge says emotional pain and the loss of a plum job warranted $491,000 in damages to a transsexual.

The Washington Post said Wednesday that the award was made Tuesday to Diane Schroer, a retired Army colonel who in 2004 had been offered a job at the Library of Congress as a man but then had the offer rescinded in 2004 after revealing he was undergoing a sex change.

"She experienced the emotional pain and suffering of losing her dream job merely because she was a transsexual," U.S. District Judge James Robertson said in the ruling.

The Post said Robertson rejected the library's contention that the job offer was taken back out of concern that Schroer would not be able obtain the necessary security clearances to carry out the position of terrorism research analyst in timely fashion.