Karen Frances Ulane – then known as Kenneth Ulane – was hired as a pilot in 1968 by Eastern Airlines. After being fired in 1981, she filed a charge of sexual discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and later filed suit in a U.S. District Court.
Ulane alleged that she was discriminated against as a transgender woman in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Eastern Airlines sent this letter to Ulane notifying her that should the District Court rule in her favor, she would be terminated on new grounds. It was included as an exhibit in the case Ulane v. Eastern Airlines.
The U.S. District Court judge did rule in favor of Ulane. However, the case was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, where the District Court’s decision was reversed.
This document was digitized by teachers in our Primarily Teaching 2014 Summer Workshop in Chicago.
