Eatontown Biz Discriminated Against Worker Who Is Lesbian: AG

EATONTOWN, N.J. — New Jersey's Office of Attorney General found probably cause for sexual orientation discrimination in a preliminary investigation of an Eatontown business.

Metropolitan Healthcare Billing fired an employee who is lesbian in 2016 after she complained to the company about a supervisor making a comment on her "gaydar" during a meeting, the OAG said Thursday.

The employee worked for Metropolitan as an account representative for two-and-a-half years. During a staff meeting in October 2016, the company's director of business operations — her direct supervisor — said the company used her "gaydar" to determine whether a new client was a lesbian, the OAG said.

The meeting included a new employee who wasn't aware of the complainant's sexual orientation, according to the OAG.

The employee was upset and embarrassed by the comment. She immediately responded that she thought the comment was inappropriate, the OAG said.

She followed up with an email to her supervisor the same day noting the remark was "unprofessional" and made her feel "uncomfortable," according to officials. The complainant indicated she preferred to inform new employees of her sexual orientation on her own terms, the OAG said.

The employee had a face-to-face meeting that evening with her supervisor, whose sister serves as human resources coordinator at the company, the OAG said. The supervisor told the employee she thought it was acceptable to joke about her "gaydar" because she's overheard the employee joking about her sexuality and using the term "gaydar" in the workplace, officials said.

At this point in the conversation, the complainant asked to speak with Metropolitan's owner. The supervisor reacted by immediately firing her, according to the OAG.

“Employers are responsible for creating and maintaining a work environment where all employees are treated with equality, dignity and respect, regardless of their membership in a protected class,” said Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal. “It is not acceptable for employers to retaliate against workers who invoke their legal rights and report discriminatory conduct.”

The OAG's Finding of Probable Cause explains the supervisor's comments were severe enough that a reasonable employee in the complainant's position "could find her work environment hostile or abusive."

The FPC notes that the remark outed her to a new employee and “indicated to staff that the sexual orientation of a client would be a relevant and appropriate topic of inquiry and discussion in the workplace.”

An FPC doesn't resolve a civil rights complaint. It indicates the State has concluded a preliminary investigation to determine there's sufficient evidence to support reasonable suspicion that discrimination laws were violated.

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