Zions Bancorp asked to do more for gays, lesbians

(Salt Lake City) An assortment of investor groups represented by the New York City comptroller says Salt Lake City-based Zions Bancorp isn’t doing enough to protect gay, lesbian and transgender employees from discrimination.

But the banking company’s board is urging shareholders to vote against a proposal sponsored by the comptroller’s office on behalf of five city pension funds to amend the regional bank’s equal employment opportunity policy.

The amendment will put to a vote at the company’s annual stockholders meeting May 28. It would explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, according to a preliminary proxy statement released by Zions.

If it is approved, the board wouldn’t be bound to change the bank’s discrimination policy but would consider the idea, according to the proxy.

Zions says the company’s current policies already achieve the objectives of the proposal.

“The company really has a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of discrimination that would cause an employee to perform poorly in their job, meaning if they were troubled by discrimination and it resulted in poor performance, we would have to address that,” said James Abbott, investor relations director at Zions.

The 10-member board agreed unanimously to oppose the proposal. Abbott said the company believes a culture of discrimination could drive out highly productive employees, which might hurt its revenues.

The company also believes it’s up to cities and states to extend protection to gays and lesbians. Such protection exists in liberal-leaning Salt Lake City, but not throughout the rest of conservative Utah.

In an e-mail to The Salt Lake Tribune, comptroller’s office spokesman Greg Bell said the pension funds have a long history of submitting similar shareholder resolutions with the purpose of advancing equality while protecting the investment interest of shareholders.

“All employees should feel safe and accepted in the workplace,” Bell said. “Secondly, a work environment free of fear and harassment is good for the productivity and morale of employees, and the reputation and sustainability of companies.”

The pension funds own 918,244 shares of Zions common stock, about 0.6 percent of the 150.4 million shares in circulation.

Cheesecake Factory to pay $345K in harassment case

(Phoenix) National restaurant chain The Cheesecake Factory Inc. has agreed to pay $345,000 to settle a federal lawsuit alleging it let some male employees sexually harass other male workers in suburban Phoenix.

The settlement announced Tuesday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission includes a requirement that the company train its …

TSA refuses to hire HIV+ Air Force Vetr to scan luggage, ACLU to sues – wonder if Obama will at lteat fix this?

Transportation Security Administration Refused To Hire Qualified Baggage Screener Because He Has HIV

MIAMI – The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a complaint with the Transportation Security Administration on behalf of an Air Force Veteran who was refused a job as a baggage screener with the Transportation Security Administration because he has HIV.

“I was looking for a way to be able to serve my country once again and to supplement my income through this financial crisis with the possibility of changing my career. But after a lengthy interview and screening process, I was told that I am incapable and unworthy because I have HIV,” said Michael Lamarre, who worked in intelligence for the National Security Administration while serving in the Air Force from 1984 to 1987. “I am a long term HIV survivor, and it has never interfered in my ability to work. As I have learned having lived with HIV for nearly 20 years, people with HIV need to be able to make a living and support themselves just like everyone else as well as have the right to serve their country.”

In the spring of 2008, Lamarre applied online for a baggage screening position at the Fort Lauderdale airport with the TSA. He passed an aptitude test in November 2008, and then underwent a comprehensive security clearance. In March 2009, he was finally invited to come in for an interview. At the interview, which included further testing, he was told that he would have to pass a physical. Lamarre was required to disclose that he HIV at the physical. As a result, he was told to submit additional information from his doctor, including his most recent lab results and a form from his doctor stating that his HIV would not interfere with his ability to perform the duties of as baggage screener, which he did.

Lamarre has lived with HIV for 19 years. His viral load is nearly undetectable and he has never had any of the medical conditions associated with AIDS. Just last November he completed a 165 mile bike ride for charity in just 2 days.

Shortly after submitting the additional information, Lamarre received a letter from Comprehensive Health Services, the contractor who administered the physical, saying that he was disqualified for the job because of his HIV status. A copy of the letter is available at http://www.aclu.org/hiv/discrim/39829lgl20090428.html. During follow up calls to Comprehensive Health Services, he was told that the reason he was rejected is because his HIV status makes him more susceptible to virus and infections and that it was for his own benefit.

Today the ACLU filed a complaint on Lamarre’s behalf with the Equal Employment Opportunity Counselor for the Eastern Region of the TSA charging that the TSA is in violation of its own policy barring discrimination against people with disabilities. A copy of TSA’s non-discrimination policy is available on their website at: http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/civil_rights_policy.pdf. The complaint also charges that the refusal to hire Lamarre violated his equal protection guarantees. It asks the TSA to rescind Lamarre’s disqualification from employment.

“In the nearly 20 years that Michael Lamarre has lived with HIV, it has never affected his ability to work,” said Robert Rosenwald, Director of the LGBT Project of the ACLU of Florida. “HIV discrimination is always wrong, but it is especially shameful when government is behind the discrimination. I hope the TSA recognizes the harm it is causing Michael and our country by refusing to hire a highly motivated and qualified employee.”

“As we have known for quite a while now, people living with HIV can lead long and productive lives and can make significant contributions in all professions, including baggage screeners,” said Dr. Margaret Fischl, MD, director and principal investigator of the AIDS clinical research unit at the University of Miami. “A baggage screener with HIV would pose no risk to others and would be no more likely to become infected with a cold or virus than anyone else working in the airport.”

A copy of the complaint filed by the ACLU as well as the letter notifying Lamarre that he was being disqualified because he has HIV and the paperwork submitted by his doctor stating he is physically capable of performing the duties is available at http://www.aclu.org/hiv/discrim/39827res20090611.html.

In addition to Rosenwald, Lamarre is being represented by Shelbi Day, a staff attorney with the LGBT Project of the ACLU of Florida, James Esseks, co-director of the ACLU’s AIDS Project and Rose Saxe, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s AIDS Project.

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ExxonMobil continues fight against LGBT worker rights

(Dallas, Texas) Shareholders at the world’s largest oil company continue to reject a proposal to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the company’s official equal employment opportunity policy.

The latest attempt was made Wednesday at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Dallas by two large shareholders - the New York …

Update on Tennessee hotel dismissal of LGBT people

Hotel Owner Denies Firing Gay People @ MSNBC - reports:

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – A hotel manager who said the owner made him fire an employee for being gay has now been fired himself.

A number of other former employees said they were let go by the owner, Tarun Surti, because they were gay, while others said they were fired because they were women.

Channel 4 News first reported last week that employee David Hill’s said he was fired from the Arte’ Hotel in Brentwood because he was gay.

After the story aired, more people came forward with employment discrimination complaints and said they’ve filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Pressure increases on Tennessee hotelier after more former … @ PageOneQ.com reports:

The battle against Tarun Surti, owner of the ARTE’ Hotel in Brentwood, Tennessee, is intensifying. More workers have come forward with discrimination complaints in the wake of two recent firings of openly gay staff members. At least two have retained legal counsel.

On January 8, WSMV-TV reported that David Hill, the hotel’s former director of human resources, had been terminated and “dared” to sue. His supervisor, assistant general manager Leonard Stoddard, told him that Surti ordered the firing specifically because he didn’t want gays in leadership roles at his establishment. Surti’s cultural background was a homophobic one, Stoddard explained to WSMV.

Mr. Hill has since filed complaints with the EEOC and Department of Labor, but has little hope, given that both Surti and his hotel are bankrupt. On finding out that Stoddard talked to the press, he too was let go via e-mail.

Tennessee hotelier fires second gay man after he talks to the press @ PageOneQ.com reported earlier:

The firings continue at a Tennessee hotel after its assistant general manager spoke out against its owner for dismissing a man for being gay.

David Hill, former director of human resources for ARTE’ Hotel in Brentwood, said that he was “dared” to sue after being told the decision by owner Tarun Surti to terminate his employment on January 8 was specifically on the basis of his sexual orientation; assistant general manager Leonard Stoddard confirmed it to the press.

“The owner, Mr. Surti, comes from a culture that is not very tolerant to the gay lifestyle,” Stoddard, who was ordered to dismiss Hill, told WSMV-TV, “and therefore he felt it necessary to have him removed from the workforce at the property.”

Stoddard, also openly gay, has since been given his walking papers, Out & About reported. “I am here in the office and shocked to hear what you had said to the media,” Surti e-mailed Stoddard. “If it is true that you told media that David was fired because he is gay, you obviously told them a lie. Such behavior is subject to immediate termination and I would like you to restrain (sic) from coming to the hotel.”

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Artee Hotel in Brentwood, TN Fires Employee For Being Gay, Dares Him To Sue, So he Sues

The old Holiday Inn in Brentwood, TN has a new name: it is now called the “Artee Hotel.” According to the hotel’s web site, in Indian Artee means “A divine light in front of a God.”But for LGBT travelers, their families and allies, “Artee” has taken on a new meaning: “A hotel that fires workers for being gay.”

According to their website, Artee offers “memorable southern hospitality” combeined with its “endearing staff, its newly remodeled rooms with hardwood floors” and a location only a block away from the new Target Shopping Center.

Despite all these assets, the Artee Hotel in Brentwood appreas to have one major drawback: the owner, Tarun Surti. The Nashville Scene reoprtsd “Surti had a gay employee compile a list of other gay employees, then methodically canned them. “The owner (allegedly) said, ‘I don’t give a damn. They can sue me. I will not have any of the gays in leadership roles in my hotel.’ And that’s a quote,” fired human resources director David Hill told Channel 4 News. Mr. Surti will very soon learn a lesson in equal opportunity employment. Hill has apparently already filed complaints with the Department of Labor and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He says he’ll also file a civil suit.” See Brentwood Hotelier Fires Employee For Being Gay Nashville Scene