Harassment Issues Prevalant in Many Workplaces

You wouldn’t think the U.S. Library of Congress would be a hotbed of intolerance and harassment, but PR Daily reveals this unfortunate story about alleged harassment in the workplace regarding sexual orientation.

A former government employee claims he was fired for being gay after he “liked” a pro gay-and-lesbian Facebook page.

According to Roll Call, former Library of Congress employee Peter TerVeer told the organization’s Equal Employment Opportunity Complaints (EEOC) office that he had a good relationship with his ex-supervisor, John Mech. But when TerVeer “liked” the Two Dads page on Facebook, which promotes awareness of the gay and lesbian community, things allegedly got weird:

“Shortly after, TerVeer said, he started to receive emails from Mech that contained ‘religiously motivated harassment and discrimination.’ Mech then called him into a meeting for the purposes of ‘educating him on hell and that it awaited him for being a homosexual.’”

The harassment grew so bad that TerVeer’s doctor advised him to go on extended medical leave, Roll Call reports. He was later fired for missing 37 consecutive days of work.

The EEOC office has 180 days to review the case. If no action is taken, the next step, according to TerVeer’s lawyer, is legal action. A Library of Congress rep declined to comment to Roll Call.

To ensure your company has the most up-to-date harassment knowledge, consider our new edition of the Indiana Guide to Preventing Workplace Harassment. Authored by attorneys from Ogletree Deakins, this guide is set to ship in mid-May.