Tag: discrimination

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Iowa: Gay couple awarded $147K in harrassment case

An Iowa gay couple has won a $147K judgment against the management of their apartment complex because they failed to stop harassment by their maintenance man:

Jurors awarded $22,000 in economic damages to Charles Anderson and Brandon Morehead, plus $50,000 for emotional distress and $75,000 in punitive damages, according to a news release issued by the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, which brought filed a lawsuit on the couple’s behalf.

According to the commission, jurors heard testimony that maintenance technician Allen Emert launched repeated harassment and name-calling of the defendants after he learned in March 2011 that they were sharing a one-bedroom apartment.

Two of Emmert’s supervisors at New Life Multi-Family Management LLC failed to stop the daily epithets, which included, among other things, references to the men being “queer” and “pillow biters.”

The judgment was awarded after a four day jury trial.

(via JMG)

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ExxonMobil votes down LGBT non-discrimination protections – AGAIN

For the 14th year in a row, oil giant ExxonMobil’s shareholders have voted down a proposal that would have provided employment discrimination protections to the company’s LGBT employees.

The Dallas Voice reports:

Shareholders voted to reject a resolution, 81 percent to 19 percent, from the New York state comptroller calling for the company’s Board of Directors to add sexual orientation and gender identity/expression to the oil giant’s EEO policy. The 19 percent support for the resolution reportedly was the lowest ever.

George Wong addressed the shareholders on behalf of the New York State Common Retirement Fund. He presented the business argument that the company should recruit from and retain the widest possible talent pool. Failure to do that leads to less efficient business operations. Most Fortune 500 companies do have inclusive nondiscrimination policies including most other major oil companies, he said.

During general comments, no one else supported the nondiscrimination proposal.

ExxonMobil has the lowest score ever received by a company in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, scoring a -25 rating for rescinding LGBT discrimination protections and cancelling domestic partner health benefits when Exxon acquired Mobil in 1999.

Other oil companies, such as Chevron, BP, Shell and Spectra, have received scores of 85 or higher.

(source)

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Bryan Fischer: Discriminating against gays is good

One of “God’s gentle people” – Bryan Fischer of the hate group American Family Association – tells us that folks SHOULD discriminate against gays and lesbians. That discrimination is a good thing. (p.s. NO – it’s not).

Fischer is referring to Ohio Catholic high school physical education teacher Carla Hale, who lost her job after her lesbian partner’s name appeared in her mother’s obituary. She didn’t parade around as a “militant lesbian” or make anyone listen to her promote anything. She quietly lives her private life at home.

Just days after her mother’s funeral, Hale was fired after a complaint from an anonymous parent.

Hale had worked at Bishop Watterson High School for 19 years with no complaints before her dismissal.

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Boy Scouts of America may allow gay scouts but no gay adult Scout Leaders

So, the Boy Scouts of America have come up with their solution to ending the ban on gay scouts: gay youth in; gay adults, out.

Reuters has the news:

The Boy Scouts of America called to end a long-standing ban on openly gay members, a spokesman said on Friday, but the organization’s board must still vote in May on whether to ratify the resolution. If the vote is approved, “no youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone,” Deron Smith, the organization’s spokesman, told Reuters.

The Boy Scouts proposal would create a situation where a gay youth could become a scout and then be forced to resign when he becomes an adult.

So the message to scouts will be: you can take part in scouting as an openly gay teenager, but come adulthood you are not good enough, you are a danger and you belong in the closet?

According to the extensive study done to find a “resolution,” parents in three of four U.S. regions opposed the current anti-gay membership policy.

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Ohio high school fires phys-ed teacher who was outed by mother’s obituary

Bishop Watterson, a Catholic High School in Clintonville, Ohio, has students and other supporters rallying around Carla Hale, a physical education teacher who was fired by the school after an anonymous parent informed them that her partner’s name had appeared in her mother’s obituary.
 
The Columbus Dispatch reports:

According to a contract between the Columbus diocese and the Central Ohio Association of Catholic Educators, teachers can be terminated for “immorality” or “serious unethical conduct.” George Jones, a spokesman for the diocese, had no comment yesterday, saying personnel matters are confidential.

Hale, a physical-education teacher who taught at Watterson for 19 years, said she has filed a grievance under the terms of the contract, seeking her job back. Her attorney, Thomas Tootle, said they are exploring other legal options.

Hale, a practicing Methodist, said she also hopes the reaction to her dismissal spurs Catholic leaders to reconsider their stance on gay relationships.

Hale did not discuss her sexual orientation or her partner with students or teachers. No charges were filed saying she ever demonstrated anything but a professional manner in her work.  A Change.org petition to reinstate her now has more than 10,000 signatures.

The Dispatch adds that Hale’s firing may violate city law:

The firing of a gay physical-education teacher from a Columbus Catholic high school would be a violation of a city ordinance if a complaint were filed and investigators determined the dismissal was based on her sexual orientation…A Columbus city ordinance makes it a misdemeanor for an employer to discriminate against an employee based on sexual orientation. City law also states that an employer cannot have a policy that discriminates based on sexual orientation. Those who are found guilty could face up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Students have left testimonies in support of Hale.

Wrote Amanda Lux:

When I was a student at Bishop Watterson, we were always taught to treat others with dignity and compassion. As an alumni, I still credit Bishop Watterson with shaping me into the person I am today — both morally and ethically. I am deeply saddened to learn that, in spite of what Watterson taught me about respect for all humanity, a longstanding and well-respected faculty member was treated so unfairly. Ms. Hale has always been an excellent coach and teacher. Her sexual orientation and lifestyle choices have no bearing on her capacity to educate her students and should NOT be grounds for termination of employment.

Wrote Lauren Bogenrief:

Bishop Watterson demands that we all treat each other with equality and respect. I hope they see that their students are standing up for the morally right thing, not to just rebel against the school. Carla Hale is a child of God and equal in his eyes to all of us. Bishop Watterson needs to recognize that.
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110 members of Congress ask President Obama to issue executive order as ENDA stopgap

Last year, 72 members of the House of Representatives wrote to President Obama asking him to issue an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating in the workplace based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Today, 110 members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama asking for the same action.

In lieu of the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, those members of Congress are asking the President to at least put in place a stopgap measure to end workplace discrimination against members of the LGBT community.

From the Advocate:

On Wednesday 110 Congress members wrote, “We remain committed to passage of the Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would ban employment discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. However, you can take action today to help prevent these types of unfair labor practices and to lay the groundwork for passage of ENDA.”

At least 16.5 million Americans would be protected under the proposed executive order, according to the Williams Institute, as federal contractors are one of the largest employer subsets in the country. But currently, it is legal to fire people on the basis of their sexual orientation in 29 states, and legal to fire people on the basis of their gender identity or expression in 34 states. Because of this, approximately 43% of LGB people, and 90% of transgender people have experienced some sort of workplace discrimination.

“With a majority of American workers living in states that have not passed laws granting LGBT employees legal protections from workplace discrimination, an executive order will provide broad protections that will level the playing field,” the Congress members wrote.

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I love me some TRAIN

Pop/rock band Train (big hit “Hey, Soul Sister” among many others) has decided to ‘wait and see’ if they will still participate in the Boy Scouts Jamboree this summer due to the ongoing discrimination against gays in scouting.  From the Train website:

“When we booked this show for the Boy Scouts of America we were not aware of any policy barring openly gay people from participation within the organization. Train strongly opposes any kind of policy that questions the equality of any American citizen. We have always seen the BSA as a great and noble organization. We look forward to participating in the Jamboree this summer, as long as they make the right decision before then.”

Let’s hear it for TRAIN! Let’s hear it for the good guys!

And while we’re ‘hearing,’ let’s take a listen to their recent hit “Bruises.”

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President Obama considers employment nondiscrimination executive order

The Washington Post is reporting that President Obama is considering issuing an executive order regarding discrimination of gays and lesbians who work for government contractors:

On social policy, Obama is reconsidering whether to issue an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. When he decided not to issue such an order last year, the White House said it would prefer to pass a law applying to gays and lesbians in the workplace.

But if Congress seems unlikely to act on the broader legislation — called the Employment Non-Discrimination Act — officials have signaled to people working on the issue outside the administration that the president would likely consider issuing an executive order, which can only affect government contractors.

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Poll: 55% of Americans support allowing gays in Boy Scouts

In a Quinnipiac University national poll released today, Americans support allowing gay Boy Scouts by a margin of 55%- 33%.

There is a large gender gap as women support gay scouts 61 – 27 percent, compared to 49 – 39 percent among men, the independent poll finds.

White Catholics support gay scouts 63 – 25 percent. Among white Protestants, 44 percent say open up scouting and 41 percent say no. White evangelical Protestants oppose gay scouts 56 – 33 percent.

“Now that the Armed Forces ban on openly gay service members has been lifted, and polls show increasing acceptance of same-sex marriage, most American voters think it’s time to open up the Boy Scouts too,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.