Employee Says He Was Fired For Being Gay

[FreeState]

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- A man said he was fired from his hotel job for his sexual orientation and claims the owner who let him go dared him to sue.

David Hill is looking for a new job after he said he was fired Tuesday from a former Brentwood Holiday Inn, which now goes by the name Artee Hotel.
"They literally said to me because of my orientation and my alternative lifestyle, that I was not a fit for the hotel," said Hill.Hill said he used to be the human resources director and is shocked at the owner's decision to dismiss him because of his sexual preference.

"The owner (Tarun Surti) 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," said Hill.
While the owner was not available to talk to Channel 4, the assistant general manager, Leonard Stoddard, did comment. He said Hill was fired because "he was gay." He said he was also the one who had to tell Hill that he was being removed from his position.

"The owner, Mr. Surti, comes from a culture that is not very tolerant to the gay lifestyle, and therefore he felt it necessary to have him removed from the workforce at the property," said Stoddard.

more..... http://www.wsmv.com/news/18442419/detail.html?rss=nash&psp=news

[ogneopasno]

1. That's why you need a union, Mr. Hill. I'm guessing there wasn't one at the Brentwood Holiday Inn.

[LostinVA]

3. That's why we need ENDA passed

[ogneopasno]

7. That too. I apologize for not seeing that this was in GLBT. My first thought was union, but yours

is the larger point.

[Newsjock]

2. 100% legal in Tennessee

And also 100% legal under federal law, and also 100% legal in 34 (or is it 33 now?) states. It's amazing how many folks don't realize this -- and when they do realize it, most quickly become supporters of the proposed federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Sucks to be him -- and really sucks to be as much of a bigot as his ex-manager -- but perhaps this can help open some eyes.

[Deep13]

14. 100% legal in much of Ohio too.

Some localities prohibit work-place discrimination, but most do not. I know how important the marriage issue is. Still, in my mind, this is the most pressing gay-related civil rights issue in the country today. Gays will never be seen as normal if most people don't know how many gay people they know because they are still in the closet. They are going to stay in the closet if coming out will mean they get fired.

[BR_Parkway]

4. I always wanted to fire someone for being straight, just think of the outrage

that would provoke.

And, in the absence of any laws protecting people from being discriminated against based on orientation - it would be perfectly legal in most places.

[Deep13]

17. Yes, that is completely legal in most of the USA.

I wouldn't try it in Boston or San Francisco. But in East Shithole, Ohio, fire away.

[Zuiderelle]

5. We need discrimination policies at the FEDERAL level to protect against this sort of thing.

That's just insane.

[sdfernando]

6. Say bye-bye

to your hotel mr. (and I use the term with great dis-respect!) surti!

[LostinVA]

8. Why? He didn't break the law -- he had every legal right to do that

Mr. Hill won't be able to get a dime from him, except in umemployment benefits.

[Deep13]

15. Well, I'm never going to stay there.

I'm sure I'm not the only one either.

[mitchtv]

20. that presumes I would somehow be near TN

I suppose a plane could be stranded, then I would sleep in the airport. (all coast to coast driving would be on I-80)

[Ms. Toad]

25. There is actually one possibility...

If Surti can be goaded into making comments connecting being gay to AIDS (or if he previously made such comments), then there is a possibility of recovering under the ADA - which covers being perceived to have a disability (AIDS). In other words, if it can be shown that Surti perceived Mr. Hill to have AIDS and fired him on that basis, then Mr. Hill may have a chance. (It's worked in a few housing cases...)

[Creideiki]

9. Not likely

I've had friends and former boyfriends get fired for the same thing. If it's not a protected class, then according to the state, it's a perfectly acceptable reason to fire someone.

[LostinVA]

21. I got fired for being gay -- 1991, Fayetteville, NC

By a manager who ran a store part of a MAJOR corporation. I had no legal rights: no state, Federal, or company protection. I had trouble getting another job, and finally got a friend to call making believe they were checking references. The manager was saying I had been fired for stealing. I called Corporate and went bonkers. That problem was taken care of ASAP.

No one in my family has shopped at that chain since, although they've since been bought out by another chain.

ENDA needs to be passed NOW.

[Solon]

10. According to some here, if this guy just stayed in the closet, he would have never have been fired.

:eyes:

[NMMNG]

13. That bullshit pisses me off more than I can articulate

:grr:

Don't ever insinuate that GLBT people can or should "stay in the closet" to avoid discrimination and give bigots a pass.

[LostinVA]

22. He could have just passed as "normal" and kept his job

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[queerart]

12. David Hill............

Just needs to be more tolerant, and understanding of people whom loath him, and want to wipe clean his filthy Queer kind from the planet.


I mean..... anyone reasonable can understand that.......


If he would have just cowered to Mr. Surti, (and promised to be chased the rest of his life, and begged a little) maybe David Hill could have kept a job cleaning toilets at the hotel where no one could have seen him, or touched him by accident....


Anyone that has half a brain can grasp the fact that Queers should embrace Mr. Surti's bigoted cultural outlook that he has imported to the United States... because it's the main function of Queers to..... smile widely when hit, to say please when kicked, and then to disappear upon command...... Everyone knows that!


If he had just stayed in his filthy Queer closet, none of this ugliness would have taken place.... I mean it begs the question as to why Mr Hill was so blatant about his disgusting "lifestyle choice"........ he appears to be just a "Militant Queer Shit Stirrer"........


The funny part of this little story is: (If I was a betting man) the same "hating Fuckers of all stripes" that will help Mr. Surti save his ass (and Hotel).... will also be the same group that will turn on a foreigner.....


I wonder how Mr Surti feels about "Christianity".... or if he should fire someone for pushing "their type" of religion....


If that happens.... the seas will part.... the Earth's crust will crack..... and Government will step in to "protect" a trod upon class of people.....


..... and the very folks that are doing nothing to help us (the GLBTQ community) still have the balls to demand our time, money, and votes? Christ people... come on!





Edited to add: It seems Mr. Surti is a Democrat which makes it all the more funny.....

http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/tarun-surti.asp?cycle=02


(other news outlets for the David Hill Story)

http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=&sc3=&id=85687

[Deep13]

16. "...comes from a culture that is not very tolerant to the gay lifestyle..."

So why is that the employee's problem? This is just like a pharmacist who will not dispense morning-after pills because the pharmacist's religion is against it. The burden of his irrational belief is being shifted to the patient who has no such objection and will suffer as a result of the pharmacist's irrationality. The hotel owner here has an irrational belief about being gay and an innocent third party is bearing the burden of that irrationality. That is profoundly unethical.

[xchrom]

18. recommend -- you cannot talk with haters like this

but you can -- if the state laws and fed requirements permit -- MAKE them mind the rules.

[readmoreoften]

19. 100% legal in all but 13 states.

[LostinVA]

23. SOME corporations have sexual orientation as a protected class, but that's not enough

Passing ENDA needs to be a PRIORITY. Polls indicate most Americans -- I believe it is a supermajority or better -- approve of it. It would be an easy sell, just as repealing DADT would be.

[Not Me]

24. Well. maybe--if we are good little glbt's

they'll consider ENDA sometime after 2010.
:sarcasm:

[dbackjon]

26. Yet even in FUCKING NASHVILLE an ENDA measure lost

Leading the charge to defeat was a coalition of White Baptists/Church of Christ and Blacks.

[dbackjon]

27. And of course our DEMOCRATIC Leadership will not have the balls

To pass a Federal ENDA.