In “Lesbian Nurse Loses Title VII Discrimination Case,” Professor Leonard describes the situation of a nurse, Penelope Lynch. Lynch was fired after a heated discussion with a subordinate who objected to Lynch’s homosexuality. Even though Lynch worked for twenty years at Baylor Medical Center and received promotions, she was discharged through the following series of events:

On or around May 30, 2004, [Lynch] got into a confrontation with one of her subordinate nurses who was uncomfortable with gay people, purportedly because in college a lesbian had pressured her for sex and because homosexuality offended her strong religious views. Lynch attempted to apologize and patch things up with the other nurse, but the nurse remained agitated about the incident and called the hospital’s ethics hotline to complain. This triggered an “investigation” of Lynch by the hospital administration, which purportedly uncovered various problems with her work and led to her discharge.

Judge Solis ruled that Lynch “failed to allege the necessary facts to make a prima facie case under Title VII” for her employment discrimination claim on the basis of sex and religion. Lynch v. Baylor University Medical Center, 2006 WL 2456493 (N.D. Texas). Lynch argued that she was the “victim of gender stereotyping discrimination and religious discrimination,” but Judge Solis didn’t see enough evidence for either theory to apply adequately:

Solis pointed out that there was no evidence that Lynch’s appearance or mannerisms were the cause of her discharge, but rather the various items of inadequate job performance proffered by the defendants. Solis also rejected the argument that this was religious discrimination because the subordinate’s religious objections to homosexuality triggered her call to the ethics hotline.

Professor Leonard mentioned an unusual, unfortunate piece of reasoning in this case:

Addressing more generally the sex discrimination claim, Solis observed that the management officials who hired, evaluated and supervised Lynch were all women, as if this could be determinative of whether gender stereotyping was taking place.

To read more about this case, click on the banner for the Lesbian/Gay Law Notes.

Jen also blogs at Transcending Gender and A Life Less Convenient. Her book is available here.