Fedweek Legal

The EEOC recently ruled in Veretto v. U.S. Postal Service, EEOC Appeal No. 0120110873 (July 1, 2011), that a gay employee may be entitled to relief under Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination for a claim of hostile work environment. The EEOC held that the employee’s claim could be an example of sex stereotyping.

Veretto was a rural carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. Veretto claims he was subjected to a hostile work environment when a male coworker learned of Veretto’s proposed marriage to another male and harassed him due to his sexual orientation. At first, the agency removed Veretto’s coworker from the workplace after Veretto reported an incident in which the coworker cornered him, used a gay slur, screamed and swore at him, and physically threatened him. However, shortly thereafter, with no advance notice to Veretto, the agency returned the coworker to the workplace. Veretto claims he requested that the coworker be reassigned to another location, but that management was nonresponsive.

The USPS initially dismissed Veretto’s formal EEO complaint for failure to state a claim, finding an employee cannot bring a claim for sexual orientation discrimination under Title VII. The EEOC reversed the Postal Service’s decision, finding that Veretto’s allegations were sufficient to state a hostile work environment claim under Title VII for “sex stereotyping discrimination.” Because the actions of Veretto’s coworker were “motivated by the sexual stereotype that marrying a woman is an essential part of being a man,” or in other words, “motivated by his attitudes about stereotypical gender roles in marriage,” the USPS may have contributed to a hostile work environment by failing to take appropriate corrective action once the harassment was reported to management, the EEOC concluded. The complaint was reinstated for further processing.

This case teaches that while Title VII’s prohibition of sex discrimination does not include sexual preference or orientation as a basis, it may nonetheless allow for a gay employee to obtain relief if subjected to harassment motivated by sex stereotyping.

* This information is provided by the attorneys at Passman & Kaplan, P.C., a law firm dedicated to the representation of federal employees worldwide. For more information on Passman & Kaplan, P.C., go to http://www.passmanandkaplan.com.

The attorneys at Passman & Kaplan, P.C, are the authors of The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide, Second Edition, a comprehensive overview of federal employees’ legal rights. To order your copy, go to http://www.passmanandkaplan.com/CM/Custom/Federal-Employees-Survival-Guide.asp . This book originally sold for $49.95 plus s&h, but is now available for $29.95 plus s&h.