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365Gay.com
Goodyear Ordered To
Pay $4.4M
In Discrimination
Suit
From the Web,
November 10, 2007
Seattle, Washington -- A jury
in Seattle, Washington has ordered Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company to pay a
woman $4.4 million after finding the company demoted and then fired her after
she complained of discrimination because of her sexuality.
Melissa Sheffield went to court alleging that Goodyear had retaliated against
her after she complained her boss had made disparaging remarks about her
sexuality.
She testified that the boss had made slurs about gays and lesbians and when she
confronted him he said he knew she was a lesbian and did not want to work with
gay people.
Sheffield also said she heard that the boss carried a gun to work, a violation
of Goodyear policy, and she asked him about it.
He confirmed he was armed and when she told him that was not permissible, he
said if she made him mad he would “pull it out and urinate all over [her]."
Sheffield took her concerns to management several times and nothing was done.
Following the complaint about the gun Sheffield was demoted and moved into an
area where she had difficulty working because of a previous on the job injury.
Eventually she was fired.
The company maintained that Sheffield was fired with cause. But two months
after the lawsuit was filed the company began a head office directed
investigation. The boss was fired as a result of the probe.
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