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Subscribe to RSSA former employee at the Library of Congress is claiming he was fired after he "liked" a Facebook page for same-sex parents, an act he says led to his boss discovering he is gay. WRC-TV's Jim Handly reports.
A former management analyst at the Library of Congress is claiming he was fired after he "liked" a Facebook page for same-sex parents, an act he says led to his boss discovering he is gay.
Peter TerVeer liked the “Two Dads” page on Facebook, a group that helps “promote the gay and lesbian community,” according to the page.
When his manager, John Mech, discovered he was gay, TerVeer’s once-positive performance reviews turned negative, he alleges, and his boss started making derogatory statements about his sexual orientation, according to TerVeer's attorney Thomas Simeone.
Simeone would not comment on details of the case, but a Roll Call article published Tuesday said shortly after TerVeer liked the Two Dads page:
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.’
TerVeer's therapist ordered him to take medical leave because of the stress, Simeone said. He was fired last week for missing 37 consecutive days of work.
A spokeswoman for the Library of Congress said she could not comment on personnel matters. But the Library released a statement saying, “Library of Congress employees, like all employees in the federal government, have protection against workplace discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Library employees who believe they have been subjected to discrimination may avail themselves of an internal administrative process to address their equal employment opportunity complaints.”
TerVeer filed a claim with Library of Congress’ Equal Employment Opportunity Complaints Office, Simeone said. The office has until mid-May to make a ruling. After that, TerVeer can take his case to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. EEOC spokeswoman Christine Nazer would not comment on the case.
Even though sexual orientation discrimination was part of the case, Simeone said his client will fight the termination based on religious bias. He said laws protecting workers against sexual orientation discrimination are limited and provide few, if any, remedies for compensating workers in cases like TerVeer's.
Whatever the outcome, it’s a wake-up call for employees who may not yet understand the extent to which their social media participation can impact their careers. The question of what’s private and what’s not on social networking sites is rearing its head in the workplace more often.
This month Maryland became the first state to ban the practice of asking for a job candidate or worker's social networking password; and Illinois is considering similar legislation, said Daniel Prywes, an employment attorney for Bryan Cave. “The proposed bills would broadly prohibit employers from seeking access to private areas of social media accounts, with no exceptions for law enforcement or similar sensitive types of employment.”
Facebook has threatened to “take action to protect the privacy and security of our users” in cases where employers seek passwords.
While most companies don’t cyber snoop on workers and job candidates, it can be legal for your employer to mine your social media meandering and take adverse action against you for something on your Facebook or LinkedIn, as long as your employer doesn’t thwart discrimination laws or collective bargaining rights.
Discuss this issue on our Facebook page. But remember, your boss might be reading.
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Okay, so he was harrassed for over a year, but NEVER filed a complaint before this? Didn't file a complaint but got a therapist to "oder" him to take leave because of the harrassment? I'm assuming the leave was not approved, he took the days off anyhow, and then after 37 days enough was enough and he was fired.
Two things I don´t Understand:
1) Do you have to be gay to be for same-sex parenting? I am not gay and I am definitely for same-sex parenting.
2) Can´t people divert their inner hate for something else but gay people?
Nope. But I do try to hate equally. Race,religion, minorities. Depends on the topic of the day. Today it's gays.
As with every major political movement, the homosexual lobby is pushing a specific agenda. It is often called the "gay agenda." At its core is a concerted effort to remove from society all traditional notions of sexual morality and replace them with the post-modern concept of sexual relativism. That is to say, when it comes to sex, there is never right or wrong. All sexual appetites are "equal." If it feels good, do it.
Ultimately, the homosexual lobby's primary objective is to radically redefine our foundational institutions of legitimate marriage and the nuclear family by unraveling God's natural design for human sexuality. In so doing, they hope to elevate their own spiritual and biological counterfeit and establish a sexually androgynous society wherein natural distinctions between male and female are dissolved.
Raymond, morality is subjective, which is why it cannot be legislated.
Furthermore, God doesn't make our laws -- if s/he ever existed. The bible is just fairy tales; there were civilizations (including homosexuals and legal same-sex marriage) long before people believed in any "God" or bible.
BTW, you, like other bigots, seem to know so much about what the "gay agenda" is, so please explain it to the rest of us.
To Erin
I agree have never been told the gay agenda myself. would be nice to know since I am gay.
For Evenstar and Ducky
As far as religion and the bible here is the reality yes Paul condemned Homosexuality. No Jesus did not say anything about it. Yes you can take any scripture out of the bible and twist it. Remember these are not the days of the Old Testement. Now if you are of the Jewish persuasion and live by the Old Testament the God bless you and you are a very much more dedicated religious person than me.
As far as the New translated version or not unless you go to a catholic church or are a higher up individual in the Arch Dyasist (however that is spelled) at no time do we have the entire book of the bible. Many chapters are missing even in the Catholic bible there are chapters that for some reason are not in the Christian bible.
So explain why you can quote the incomplete bible in saying that anyone that changes the words or omits anything in the bible....paraphrasing what you said is bound for lowest depths (again paraphrasing). Because reality is this Christianity is one of the newest religions of today.
Almost every religion has the same stories of some version in them. Christianity in it's foundamental form was started as a way of controlling people ie goverment. If you can find me the original version of the bible and all it's missing chapters and translate it to me then and only then will you be able to convince me that my orientation (not chosen fought against it all my life-but that's another story) is against my god who created me and knows me inside out. Will I believe what you say.
Remember I was a minister at my church and very involved in the church. Just got tired of the politics and control issues. Bless you and yours christian or not.
Remember Judge not lest ye be judged.
Through a carefully crafted, decades-old propaganda campaign, homosexual activists have successfully cast homosexuals — many of whom enjoy positions of influence and affluence — as a disadvantaged minority. They have repackaged and sold to the public behaviors which thousands of years of history, every major world religion and uncompromising human biology have long identified as immoral and sexually deviant.
I bet your bible isn't the only thing you beat. Heheheheheh!
Faith is believing without seeing. Much harder than not believing in anything greater than yourself!
Morality is subjective, Raymond, which is why it cannot be legislated. And "human biology" hardly identifies homosexuality (or anything else) as "immoral and sexually deviant".
Where do you get your "facts" from? The encyclopedia of your ass, apparently.
Where's the problem here? Maybe the supervisor should have been a little more discreet about why this gay got fired, but the end justifies the means. Find another job you whinny gay. And I only say gay because if I said what I really want to I would be banned.
Where's the problem here? Maybe the supervisor should have been a little more discreet about why this gay got fired, but the end justifies the means. Find another job you whinny gay. And I only say gay because if I said what I really want to I would be banned.
The problem with America is in trying to protect the rights of the few, we have infringed on the rights of many. I know more want to hear or know about a homosexual or lesbians lifestyle than they want to hear about my religious beliefs. Why is killing Trayvon Martin any more racist then a black, hispanic, or any other race killing a white man? Yet that's not blasted all over the news and the reverend Al Sharpton isn't there to lay claim on racism. As a county we have become so lopsided it is ridiculous and if you call it like it is, you are a hate crimer.
Since we are not a country of majority rule, the rights of the few are the same as the rights of the many.
Go to civics class.
AHHHH!!!! Religion, religion. Always the cause of something controversial. I got an idea.... Nevermind, not worth sharing with a bunch of people who go home and get on their collective knees and talk to a man that lives in the clouds.
You should be thankful that some people came and made a country where you could say whatever you want and not have someone make hole in you.I wouldn't recommend doing that about islam.They'll track your ass down,ingrate
Breadman-walkin. I would rather get on my knees pray to a God I can't see, than to stand on my feet and believe in the words of a fool.
Pssst. You already have.
Not in the clouds, in Heaven. A place, unless you change your ways, you shall never see. Though you do not believe in God, know this, He believes in you.
And to RJ3083578 - Amen!!
Sweet! someone just got fired that just raised the potential bar for me to slide in!!! Anyone else wanna take 37 days off work and blame it on being gay? I got friends who just graduated and are still unemployed
Why would anyone hire a new grad when there are loads of experienced people available?
If his friends are anything like him, I can understand why they are still unemployed. Try as they might, most sociopaths find it difficult to completely conceal their nature to prospective employers.
BIG BROTHER is watching you, and listening too. Get used to it government and the boss can do what ever they want to you and nothing will change it, they are just following the golden rule. Those with the gold make the rules...
If he was posting on FB while at WORK, AND on a Government computer, I do not see a problem with his firing.
It doesn't say he was on FB at work. If he was, and the company had a policy against that, then you're right. But, assuming all that is true, they should have made it plain why he was being fired.
There probably is more to this story and I doubt this individual lost his job for liking something on Facebook. If his supervisor was so dumb as to harass the guy for his preference then the supervisor needs to be terminated. I would almost be willing to bet that the individual was fired for accessing an unauthorized site on a government computer and used a perceived harassment as a way to try to get his job back.
Sweet! Someone just got fired for missing 37 days off work and blamed it on being gay that leaves a potential job opportuity for myself or someone else who is currently unemployed
I would think that with your mentality and attitude, your unemployment will probably continue.
37 consecutive days out of work. Holy cow! Shoot the fag!!!
This guy shouldn't get fired for being gay. He should get fired for being a complete dumbass like millions of others on Facebook. Keep you profile private, and for God's sake, don't be that retard that adds their boss.
What's the point in being all defensive about being gay, then hiding the fact that you are? The only constant in all this: Facebook has once again led to someone being fired from their job. Hiding your lifestyle from others yet being public about it online makes absolutely no sense to me.
Here's a hint fools, when you're children die, it will be at the hands of someone claiming the christian faith, not because of it. You have allowed evil men to corrupt the word of God and the ministry of Jesus Christ because it let you feel good about your selfish greed so that evil becomes good and good becomes evil. Many of you have already willingly sacrificed your children with a dumb smile on your face for the very ones that will steal your soul.
The more I read storied like these the more I'm convinced Facebook isn't worth the grief
Good thing America doesn't have a history of people being oppressed and working through it to prove everyone wrong, and so many years later have complete freedom. Also good that if these said people did exist that they didnt get depressed and go on medical leave for stress, since if they were around fighting for their rights meant death, so yup...it's good they didn't have backbones to stick to what they thought was right.
The overwhelming message of Jesus and the gospel is of love, not hate. If you hate in the name of religion or religious beliefs than you are practicing hypocrisy, not christianity. God does not hate homosexuals, racist's, tax cheats, adulterers, drug addicts, alcoholic's, child abusers, or any other person with sin. He hates their sin! That is what he sent his son to die for. Keep the message clear or the only people you will win to christ are those that follow your own elitest beliefs. If you read and understand the bible you understand that it was the sinner that Jesus came to and healed and the wealthy elitest are who he challenged.
RJ-30893578,
I have said the same before and have had the atheists act as though I sprayed a vampire with holy water.
If you love you neighbor as Jesus commanded, forgiveness would follow.
Love the Lord your God.
Love yourself.
Love your neighbor.
Quite simple if you really think about it.
Oh just complain to our self-appointed lord god democratic-socialistic potentate emperor of the Oval Office... he's well-known for championing every special-interest group that comes down the highway while ignoring & hastily dismissing the wants & desires of the hard working American taxpayer... the US Constitution, Bill of Rights & the Bible be damned! Oh, and have a nice day while you contemplate burning in hell for eternity though not to worry, your friend Obama will be joining you at some point in the future!
Stop the Barackalypse! - Vote GOP November 2012!
Library of Congress is a government institution I can't believe that they would fire someone because of sexual orientation. They didn't know he was gay and probably fired him because he was a white male and they needed to make room for another affirmative action minority. Now that he has established his minority status they will have to hire him back.
There are content to debate in this particular disagreement, however it is my view and has always been that FB is a SOCIAL networking site, not a corporate, or government networking site. It's like letting the wolves in to the hen house.
This is the most telling paragraph in the whole article. Choosing which type of discrimination offers more opportunity for compensation.
Or rather, the most opportunity for legal redress.
Damn man what is the matter with you,, that is called Discrimination,,, It makes for a great lawsuit , not even defensible, you'll end up RICH really RICH...........
If he filed for FMLA then he can NOT be fired. If he was stupid enough NOT to file, then yes, fire him! Stress at work or not, there are laws to protect employees who need medical leave but you have to fill out the paperwork!! You don't just not show up for work for 37 days. If he was not on FMLA, I'm surprised they waited 37 days. If an employee where I work didn't show up for 3 days, they'd be gone based on abandonment of job.
In this day and age, I'm surprised at this manager's behavior (if he did indeed behave the way the former employee is claiming). There were e-mails received. Did he save them? I sure as heck would have!
I used to not agree with same sex partnership. As I've gotten older (54) I've come to realize that, while I may not undertand it, who the hell cares!!!!!!!!!! If they are happy and don't "flaunt" themselves, to each his own.