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E xpensive S uit
Supreme Court ruling paves the way for same-sex sexual harassment
case that nets big bucks for department store employee by Gip piaster
jury in El Paso, Texas, has
awarded $7.3 million to a Dil
lard’s department store employee
who claimed his male supervisor
sexually harassed him.
“I’m pleased that the jury saw through the
facade that Dillard’s department stores tried to
put forth in this case,” says Steve Spurgin,
lawyer for plaintiff David Gonzales.
In a unanimous decision, the six men and
six women of the jury voted to award $5 million
in punitive damages and $2.3 million in actual
damages.
The jury’s vote occurred in late May, but
Spurgin says settlement negotiations are ongo
ing. If they fail, an appeal by Dillard’s is expect
ed; if a settlement is reached, the amount
awarded to Gonzales will likely be lower.
According to the plaintiff’s account of
events, Gonzales, a married shoe salesman, was
lifted from behind by his larger-framed supervi
sor, who simulated a sex act and groped him.
Gonzales reported the incident—and prior
incidents—to superiors, but he was never
informed whether any action had been taken.
He did not know the supervisor was threatened
with termination the same day because of the
incident.
“He was reprimanded, but they never told
Gonzales that he was reprimanded,” Spurgin
explains. “The real kicker is that they did not
conduct any kind of investigation.”
The harassment stopped after the repri
mand.
According to Spurgin, the supervisor has
denied the incidents occurred, and Dillard’s
lawyers argued that Gonzales made up the sto
ries because his sales were down and he feared
termination.
A
Dillard’s did not return calls for comment.
The supervisor has now been promoted to an
assistant manager position at another store, says
Spurgin, who adds he was shocked to leam that
Dillard’s does not provide any sexual harassment
or sensitivity training to its employees.
The chain, based in Little Rock, Ark., oper-
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled
in March 1998 that same-sex
sexual harassment cases are
actionable under federal law.
The court extended the prohibition
against sexual discrimination
in Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
AIDS F unding S cammers
C onvicted in P uerto R ico
illions of dollars of AIDS funds have been stolen in Puerto Rico,
and activists say the full tally of services not delivered, drugs not
taken and lives lost will never be known.
Late on June 14, a federal jury in San Juan con
victed three people of stealing a large portion of an
estimated $2.2 million in missing federal AIDS
funds for island residents. The trio will be sentenced
in September and could spend 15 to 20 years in
prison.
Justice Secretary Jose Fuentes Agostini is urging
the maximum penalty.
The threesome were senior administrators in the
now-defunct San Juan AIDS Institute. Six others
have already pleaded guilty, and at least two other
trials are scheduled for later this year.
The scam involved the funneling of money into
dummy corporations from 1989 to 1994. Rather
than serve people living with AIDS, the cash was
used to line the pockets of the administrators and
local politicians.
“This isn’t just about fraud—it’s murder,” says
Anselmo Fonseca, co-founder of AIDS Patients for Sane Policies, an
activist group formed to monitor the trial and assure future accountabil
ity in AIDS funding.
“The jury made a very wise decision, but we believe this is only the
tip of the iceberg,” adds Jose Fernandez Colon, another member of the
Among the revelations, the institute’s former controller, Angel Cor-
cino, testified that the former head of San Juan’s health department,
Pedro Rossello, demanded and received $250,000 for his 1992 campaign
for governor.
Rossello, now governor, denies any knowledge of the source of the
money and has not been charged.
Also currently serving as chairman of Vice President Al Gore’s cam
paign efforts in Puerto Rico, Rossello has been pro
moting himself as a possible secretary of health and
human services in a Gore administration.
“What they did was unconscionable,” says Daniel
Zingale, executive director of the AIDS Action
Council. “We condemn misuse of AIDS funds in the
harshest possible terms.”
AIDS advocates are concerned with the possible
impact of the scandal on a pending audit by the
General Accounting Office of nearly $9 billion
worth of Ryan White AIDS programs.
U.S. Rep. Tom Cobum, a Republican from Okla
homa, requested the audit in April. The report
should be completed by year’s end.
AIDS advocates say they support the concept of
accountability in federal expenditures, but many are
troubled by the fact that the effort is being led by
Cobum, who is considered extremely conservative.
Activists concede, however, that the GAO has a
reputation of strict nonpartisanship.
The review is strongly supported by San Francisco activist Michael
Petrelis with the Accountability Project, and Wayne Turner of ACT UP
Washington, D.C.
The duo hope the study will point to ways that money can be redi
rected from overhead expenses, such as high salaries, to direct services.
The scam involved the
funneling of money into
dummy corporations from
1989 to 1994.
group.
Puerto Ricans have been enthralled by the stories of fraud exposed
during the trial, which lasted nearly two months.
ates about 270 stores under the Dillard’s name
and 70 others acquired in its 1998 purchase of
Mercantile Stores.
According to testimony in the case, the
supervisor is married but may also be gay or
bisexual. A gay man testified in the court pro
ceedings that he has witnessed other inappropri
ate actions by the supervisor.
Spurgin says whether the supervisor is gay
was not important to the case.
“The sexual orientation of the harasser was
something we tried to stay away from in the
trial,” he says.
The gender of the victim was an issue for
Spurgin, however.
“1 suspect had this been a male supervisor
harassing a female employee, perhaps bells
would have gone off in the corporate offices in
Little Rock,” he says.
Until last year, a case like Gonzales’ would
not have been possible.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in March
1998 that same-sex sexual harassment cases are
actionable under federal law. In Oncale vs. Suri'
downer Offshore Services, the court extended the
prohibition against sexual discrimination in
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to
same-sex sexual harassment.
The case concerned Joseph Oncale, an off
shore oil rig worker who said his supervisor
threatened to rape him and penetrated him with
a bar of soap while he was showering. A settle
ment was reached in the case, but the terms are
confidential.
While the Oncale precedent has proved use
ful in cases involving same-sex harassment, a
Long Island federal judge ruled on May 25 that
a postal worker who claimed he was harassed
because he is gay is not covered under the deci
sion and cannot go forward with a federal
employment discrimination claim.
Judge Leonard Wexler is the third district
judge to rule that, although Oncale extended
Title VII to apply to same-sex sexual harass
ment, it does not protect those who become the
subject of harassment because they are gay or
lesbian.
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