Lesbian/Gay Employment Rights Victory
Illegally fired hospital worker receives settlement
from ACLU of WA
PULLMAN, WA - A local hospital and a doctor who worked there have agreed
to pay a former employee $75,000 for harassing and illegally firing her
solely because she is a lesbian. The American Civil Liberties Union,
which successfully litigated the employee's lawsuit last year, said the
case has helped establish important precedents protecting lesbian and
gay government employees from anti-gay discrimination.
"I am relieved that I can finally put this painful experience behind me
and move on with my life," said Mary Jo Davis, a former sonographer at
Pullman Memorial Hospital, located in the Southeastern part of the state
near Spokane.
"Employees should be judged on their work, not on their sexual
orientation," she added. "While the money doesn't make up for the
indignities I suffered, it's comforting to know that by standing up for
what's right, I have made it easier for other people facing anti-gay
discrimination in the workplace."
Davis worked in the Radiology Department at the hospital for about two
years. According to ACLU legal papers, Dr. Charles Guess, the chief
radiologist, harassed her routinely. Guess constantly referred to Davis
as a "fucking dyke" and "fucking faggot" and reportedly told another
doctor, "I don't think that fucking faggot should be doing vaginal
exams, and I'm not working with her."
When Davis complained, Guess told hospital administrators that he didn't
"agree with Mary Jo Davis' lesbian lifestyle." Rather than discipline
Guess, the hospital punished Davis, reducing her work hours to
three-quarters time so Guess wouldn't have to work with her. Finally,
Davis was fired.
"By standing up to the bigotry of Dr. Guess and Pullman Memorial
Hospital, Ms. Davis has made going to work every day much easier for
lesbian and gay government employees," said Ken Choe, a staff attorney
with the ACLU's Lesbian & Gay Rights Project. "Because of her, it is now
clear that government employers can be held accountable for anti-gay
discrimination."
In July 2002, the Washington Court of Appeals sided with the ACLU,
holding that government employers cannot discriminate against employees
for being gay. This was the first time that an appeals court interpreted
the US Constitution to protect government employees against anti-gay
discrimination. Davis initially sued Guess and the hospital in 1996,
alleging that both she and her former supervisor--a straight woman--were
wrongfully terminated because of anti-gay bias. The name of the case is
Miguel v. Guess.
While this case has helped to protect government employees against
discrimination, it is still legal in 36 states for non-government
employers to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. The ACLU
has launched a web-based public education campaign,
www.aclu.org/getequal,
to encourage the LGBT community to work for
equality. The website includes a number of tools designed to protect
LGBT employees in the workplace, ranging from a one-click action alert
urging Congress to support the ENDA, the federal anti-gay discrimination
bill, to detailed instructions on how to encourage private employers to
adopt non-discrimination policies.
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