Gay man wins $1 mill discrimination suit

A Mainer won suit against his former employer that denied him promotions for being gay.

eHarmony agrees to settle gay discrimination suit

(Los Angeles) The online dating service eHarmony has agreed to settle a California lawsuit that claimed it discriminated against homosexuals.

Under a proposed settlement filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, eHarmony will link its straight and gay Web sites and allow people to use both without paying double fees.

Plaintiff’s attorney …

Ex-Playboy staffer files discrimination suit

(New York City) Playboy magazine’s former fashion director claims he was fired because of his sexual orientation and his age.

Joseph DeAcetis filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court saying the magazine’s editorial director “made fun” of him because he is gay and his hair was gray. The lawsuit says that …

Same-sex spouses challenge US curbs

Fifteen gay and lesbian residents from Massachusetts who wed after this state legalized same-sex marriages filed a discrimination suit today, challenging a federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Six same-sex couples and three men whose husbands have died — one of the deceased was retired congressman Gerry E. Studds — said in the suit that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act treats them like second-class citizens and is unconstitutional. The 92-page complaint was filed in US District Court in Boston.

The suit, which legal specialists described as the first serious challenge to the federal law signed by President Bill Clinton, contends that the statute has deprived the plaintiffs of benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples.

Those benefits include health insurance for spouses of federal employees, tax deductions for couples who jointly file federal income tax returns, and the ability to use a spouse’s last name on a passport.

See Same-sex spouses challenge US curbs Boston Globe