Sebastian A. Cummings, an African-American gay man who resigned from a dishwasher job due to alleged anti-LGBT working conditions, wants his day in court. But it remains unclear when he’ll get that opportunity, and what claims he’ll be permitted to raise.
Cummings, 29, worked as a dishwasher at Loco Pez in Fishtown from May-July, when he resigned due to alleged “intolerable” working conditions.
“My client felt unsafe at Loco Pez,” said Justin F. Robinette, an attorney for Cummings. “Male employees would pantomime anal sex while laughing. My client couldn’t understand the joke, because they would hump each other while speaking in Spanish.”
Sexist and homophobic comments permeated the workplace, Robinette added.
“Some employees would utter slurs such as ‘cock sucker,’ ‘cock smoker,’ ‘gay as shit,’ ‘faggot’ and ‘homo,’” Robinette said. “A menu sign at the restaurant said ‘Cash Only Bitches,’ and contained the word ‘puto,’ which roughly translates as ‘fag’ in Spanish. That gives you an idea of the hostile atmosphere my client faced.”
The attorney said Cummings complained to management, to no avail.
“In the end, Sebastian simply couldn’t take it any longer,” Robinette said. “No reasonable gay person would tolerate such abuse. So he quit. Then, he trimmed his hair and tried to conform to gender norms in other ways, because he was so affected by what took place at Loco Pez.”
On June 27, while still working at Loco Pez, Cummings filed an antibias complaint with the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, which was amended on July 22, after Cummings resigned.
Robinette said a PCHR investigator recently told him the case couldn’t be closed out until Jan. 18.
“I’ve been informed by PCHR that it’s unable to investigate my client’s complaint until January, at the earliest,” Robinette said. “This situation with PCHR has been going on long enough. I’m not at all comfortable with the quality of PCHR’s investigation. On Dec. 24, it will be 180 days since Sebastian filed the initial discrimination charge. I’d like a right-to-sue letter from PCHR by Dec. 24, so we can proceed into federal court with all of our claims intact.”
PCHR issued this statement: “In response to the case filing and the [U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s] process, Mr. Cummings’ original June 2016 complaint was not docketed with the PCHR so that his lawyer could revise it. The revised complaint was docketed on July 22, 2016, thus triggering the 180 days to receive a notice of ‘right-to-sue’ from the EEOC on Jan. 18, 2017. Under certain circumstances, the EEOC will issue a right-to-sue notice prior to the 180-day timeframe. Mr. Cummings’ lawyer needs to send a request, in writing, for an early right-to-sue notice to the EEOC. In response to the concern that the PCHR was not working on this case, the PCHR has been actively investigating Mr. Cummings’ complaint since it was filed.”
Robinette said it’s preferable that PCHR issue a right-to-sue letter, since it’s not clear if Cummings’ sexual-orientation claims will be preserved if EEOC issues the letter.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Robinette concluded. “Sebastian is holding up as well as can be expected. But he wants some indication that the case is moving along. So we’re hoping to get our day in court as soon as possible.”
An attorney for Loco Pez had no comment for this story. But in a legal filing with PCHR, Loco Pez denied any wrongdoing in the matter and asked that Cummings’ complaint be dismissed.