Gay Corrections Officer Wins Discrimination Claim

In a big victory for Michael Salvi, the Appeals Court of Massachusetts ruled on October 20, 2006 WL 2975318, that Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Catherine A. White had correctly refused to grant judgment to the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department in Salvi’s gay discrimination lawsuit, thus upholding a jury verdict awarding $623,600 in damages to Salvi and almost $100,000 in attorneys fees and costs. At the same time, the appeals court said that White should have also awarded interest at the rate of twelve percent dating back to when Salvi filed his lawsuit on all of the damages except the $380,000 allocated as "frontpay."

Salvi began working as a corrections officer in Suffolk County in 1994. He did not come out on the job, preferring to keep his sexual orientation a private matter. But in late 1997, he learned that rumors about him being gay were circulating at the county house of corrections, apparently being spread by James O’Brien, a co-worker who was vice-president of the correction officers union, according to the appeals court decision by Judge Scott Kafker. Soon the rumors manifested themselves as co-workers started referring to Salvi as "fag", refusing to sit with him in the lunch room, and generally creating an oppressive atmosphere.

As things worsened, Salvi became depressed and anxious. At first he made no official complaints, which would have meant coming out and confirming the rumors, but as things got worse, he decided to report the problem, only to find himself more isolated and receiving inferior job assignments. After his doctor diagnosed heart problems and stated that he should not be assigned to work along for more than two hours, which was communicated to his superiors, he still received isolated assignments to the solitary confinement unit. Things got so bad that he attempted suicide and finally quit his job at the recommendation of his psychologist, and filed suit.

The sheriff’s department took no effective action in response to his complaints. When co-workers were confronted with reports of using inappropriate language with Salvi, they denied making the comments, and management always believed them rather than Salvi.

At trial, the sheriff’s department claimed that Salvi’s allegations were insufficient to constitute sexual harassment under Massachusetts law, or grounds for finding that conditions were so bad that Salvi had to quit, but Judge White rejected the defense motions and sent the case to the jury, which specifically found that Salvi had been subjected to unlawful sexual harassment and was entitled to punitive as well as compensatory damages.

Writing for the appeals court panel, Judge Kafker found that the evidence presented at the trial could support the jury’s verdict as a matter of law, and that based on the evidence presented during the plaintiff’s case, Judge White had properly denied the defense’s motion for a directed verdict, as well as the post-trial motion to set aside the verdict.

What is extraordinary about this case is that at the time these events occurred, anti-gay discrimination had been illegal in the state of Massachusetts for almost a decade, and in the city of Boston (which includes Suffolk County) for even longer, yet it is apparent that nobody had taken the trouble to educate the management of the county jail about its legal responsibilities upon receiving reports of anti-gay conduct by its employees. The passage of gay rights legislation is important, but the ultimate value of a statute lies in its impact in the real world. The award of more than three-quarters of a million dollars against the Sheriff’s Department should provide a wake-up call to make sure that employees are trained about their obligations to respect those co-workers whom they believe to be gay, and that managers are trained to deal with these situations if they arise.

Comments

[Michael salvi]

Thank You for writing such an accurate discription of what accully happened.Its been a long time coming and I recommend to anyone to fight for what is right.

Michael Salvi

[Martha Mojave]

God Bless Michael, he went thru Hell and back.Unfortunately these things are daily occurences, among others in some workplaces.

[Michele Salvi]

I am very happy to see that justice was served. Michael made a stand and it was honored. I only hope that Michael keeps his family close and helps others to help themselves.

[Lisa Stokes]

I am so happy that Michael was compensated for this years of hell. I only hope he does not go through his money and he has it for his whole lifetime.,