A Norristown gay man contends he was fired from a health-care position at Meadowview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center because of his sexual orientation.
Last month, “Frank Doe” filed an amended complaint against Meadowview with the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. Doe alleges wrongful termination and retaliation due to his sexual orientation and gender nonconformity.
Doe worked as an activities director at the facility from May 2015 to September 2016. He was fired for allegedly sleeping during a work-related meeting, which Doe denies doing.
“This [sleeping on job] is an exaggerated and completely fabricated reason for terminating me,” Doe states in his complaint.
He alleges that his firing sidetracked his career and educational goals.
Meadowview is located in Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County. Attorneys for Meadowview seek the dismissal of Doe’s complaint on the basis that Meadowview isn’t under PCHR’s jurisdiction.
Doe contends a colleague warned him to “turn down the gay” before a new administrator took the reins at Meadowview in February 2016.
Doe stated he did his best to adjust to the new administrator under difficult circumstances. But the new administrator publicly referred to Doe as “Frances,” in a “screeching” and “dramatic” tone of voice, to denote Doe’s perceived gayness, according to the complaint.
“When [the new administrator] called me Frances, he always raised the inflection of his voice like a woman. The effeminate intonation was high-pitched and musical,” Doe’s complaint states.
Doe stated that he repeatedly told the director to call him “Frank,” to no avail.
The director also made aggressive statements indicating he was running out of patience with Doe for trivial reasons, according to the complaint.
Doe maintains that, prior to his dismissal, he didn’t receive warnings or a reprimand, which is standard office protocol before termination.
Doe also alleges retaliation stemming from concerns he expressed on the job about anti-LGBT workplace bias.
Meadowview doesn’t have an LGBT-inclusive antibias workplace policy, according to Doe’s complaint.
He’s seeking compensatory and punitive damages, including lost wages and reimbursement for medical expenses.
Attorneys for Meadowview declined to comment. “Please be advised that we have no comment at this time. Thank you,” attorney Enrico C. Tufano said in an email.
Justin F. Robinette, an attorney for Doe, said his client misses the patients he served at Meadowview.
“My client was beloved by the patients he served for more than a year. It’s truly devastating for him to be cut off from those associations. He’s suffered severe emotional trauma due to his firing. He’s trying his best to get his life on track. But it’s very been challenging for him. We can only hope he’ll get a modicum of justice with this complaint.”
Robinette added: “We believe Meadowview operates in Philadelphia due to the corporate documents it’s filed with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Also, Meadowview is located right on the Philadelphia/Montgomery County line. Even if PCHR dismisses our complaint due to lack of jurisdiction, we’re optimistic that our sex-discrimination and retaliation claims will prevail in federal court.”
Rue Landau, executive director of PCHR, issued this statement: “The PCHR does not comment on open cases being investigated by the Commission.”