EMPLOYMENT
Jury sides with manager claiming retaliation
On Dec. 1, 2011, a project manager who claimed that he was fired after complaining about a gay joke was awarded $102,000. Raymond Lee, who worked for the Harris County Hospital District, claimed a supervisor made the joke while they and another supervisor were in a car. Lee reported it, but nothing happened. He claimed his boss then solicited co-workers for complaints about his performance. About a month after the incident he was fired for taking an inappropriate photo of a female colleague. Defense counsel argued that the supervisors were unaware of Lee’s sexual orientation when the alleged offensive joke was made. The discrimination and harassment claims were dismissed in a summary judgment prior to trial. The jury found that Lee was subjected to retaliation.
