Michael J. Semian, a former top administrator at the Gino J. Merli Veterans’ Center in Scranton, recently filed a federal antibias lawsuit, claiming that homophobia contributed to his firing.
The center, which encompasses four city blocks in downtown Scranton, houses about 196 veterans and their eligible spouses.
Scranton is in northeastern Pennsylvania, about 125 miles north of Philadelphia.
From June 2010 to October 2015, Semian served as “commandant” of the Merli Center. His employer was the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which is a named defendant.
According to Semian’s lawsuit, he was a “scapegoat” for the center’s negative evaluations by state health authorities. During Semian’s tenure, the center was repeatedly cited for health and safety violations, including deficient patient care and inadequate record keeping.
However, Semian asserts in his suit that problems at the center were due to staffing shortages and other challenges that he reported to his superiors, to no avail.
In 2014, according to Semian’s suit, he proposed a new nursing organizational structure, but his superiors failed to act on his proposal.
In addition to sexual-orientation discrimination, Semian’s suit alleges a violation of the state Whistleblower’s Law. He’s seeking an unspecified amount in compensatory damages for physical and emotional injuries, humiliation and damage to his professional reputation.
To support his sexual-orientation claim, Semian notes in his suit that he was replaced by a heterosexual male.
“The [department] terminated [Semian’s] employment because of his sexual orientation and did not terminate the employment of similarly situated heterosexual employees. In fact, [the department] treated similarly situated heterosexual employees more favorably,” his attorneys wrote in the suit.
The suit also notes Semian’s many achievements, including increasing revenue to the center by about $350,000 by focusing on skilled-nursing care rather than personal care.
The suit, filed July 5, has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert D. Mariani.
Neither side had a comment for this story.
Justin F. Robinette, a local civil-rights attorney, said Semian’s suit appears to contain enough facts to withstand a dismissal request at this stage of the litigation.
“An LGBT discrimination case should proceed like any other discrimination case — like a case of discrimination based on race, national origin, age or disability,” Robinette said. “If the plaintiff can show that they are within the protected class, were qualified, terminated and replaced by someone who was not within the protected class, then the plaintiff can make out their prima facie case. Under the law, this is all that is required of a plaintiff at this stage. A discrimination case can — and often does — proceed by circumstantial or indirect evidence like this. Mr. Semian should be treated no differently under the law.”