In Ohio, Shari Hutchinson, civil-rights attorneys Avery Friedman and Elizabeth Wells, and Tico Almeida of the national organization Freedom to Work, held a press conference Dec. 7 at the City Club of Cleveland to announce a $100,000 settlement on behalf of Hutchinson, according to a press release from Freedom to Work.
Hutchinson was repeatedly denied promotions and discriminated against because of her sexual orientation while working for the Child Support Enforcement Agency for Cuyahoga County.
After Hutchinson’s co-workers and managers learned that she is lesbian, they spread false rumors about her and repeatedly passed her over for promotions that went to significantly less-qualified applicants. Hutchinson filed a federal lawsuit arguing that Cuyahoga County’s discrimination violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Neither Ohio law nor federal law bans workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.
In response, the county’s attorneys submitted papers, contending that gays and lesbians do not fall under the protections of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Honorable James S. Gwin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio rejected the county’s argument, criticizing the county’s attorneys for arguing that “all of Hutchinson’s claims must fail because sexual orientation is not a protected class, and thus does not merit the constitutional protection, under the Equal Protection Clause, that Hutchinson seeks.”
Gwin allowed Hutchinson’s case to go forward, and the settlement was reached on the eve of the trial.