Noteboom The Law Firm

Lesbian Former VA Employee Loses Discrimination Suit

July 21, 2010 - Ann Williams is a lesbian and a former employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Williams filed a lawsuit in 2009 against the Oakland VA office in which she claims she was fired after standing up against anti-gay harassment and complaining of a hostile work environment. Last week, Judge Caitlin Schneider rejected all these claims.

Williams' claims ranged from co-workers manipulating her performance records to being exposed to anti-gay verbal abuse to threats of violence against her based solely on her being a lesbian. 15 witnesses testified over the 3 days of hearings. Judge Schneider's ruling found:

• Williams did not prove she had been subjected to a hostile work environment as defined in the federal code; and
• Williams did not prove the treatment she received was rooted in her being a protected class under federal law.

Probably most damaging to Williams' case, Judge Schneider stated Williams didn't even learn about the anti-gay comments until after she left her position at the VA. Therefore, the hostile work environment Williams claimed existed could not have possibly existed. Schneider ruled "[d]iscrimination based on sexual orientation is not prohibited by Title Vii and is not within the EEOC's purview." Williams telling her supervisors her co-worker didn't like her because Williams was gay does not place her in the protected class in which she would need to be in order to win her lawsuit.  

Gay rights proponents feel these rejected claims demonstrate how few legal rights LBGT federal employees actually have. They blame this situation on Congress' refusal to allow inclusion of LGBT workers in non-discrimination lawsuits. Because of this refusal, LBGT plaintiffs stand very little chance in successfully litigating these types of cases.