As read yesterday in the Macon Telegraph:
Mount de Sales, fired gay band director settle discrimination lawsuit
Mount de Sales Academy and its former band director have reached a confidential settlement, resolving a discrimination suit that Flint Dollar filed against the private school after his firing last year.
Dollar, who now lives in New York, alleged that he was fired from the Macon school in 2014 because of his plans to marry his same-sex partner. He subsequently filed suit, contending that he had been discriminated against because of his sexual orientation.
His lawyer, Charles E. Cox, filed a motion to dismiss the case Friday.
In an e-mailed statement Tuesday, Mount de Sales President David Held said, “The parties have reached a confidential settlement to resolve this matter to the mutual satisfaction of both parties.”
Cox responded to a request for comment with a similar statement.
In the lawsuit, Dollar sought back pay, reinstatement to his job, compensation for his emotional pain and suffering, and attorney’s fees.
Cox said he couldn’t comment on any terms of the settlement.
Dollar’s suit was filed June 29, the Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The filing date was a coincidence, Cox said.
Dollar said he informed the school of his marriage plans in October 2013 before he signed a new contract May 1, 2014, to teach for the 2014-2015 term. Held fired him May 21, 2014.
The Catholic school released a letter last year saying that Dollar wasn’t fired because he’s gay, but because same-sex marriage goes against Catholic doctrine.
An investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determined “there is reasonable cause to conclude” Dollar was discriminated against because of his sexual orientation.
Dollar maintained in his suit that he complied with the school’s Professional Excellence Standards during his employment. The school’s faculty handbook doesn’t require teachers to be members of the Catholic church or that they adhere to the church’s teachings on marriage.
The handbook says the school is an equal employment opportunity employer and strives to comply with laws prohibiting various kinds of discrimination, including sexual orientation and marital status
5 comments:
The Church should only agree to pay for the healthcare and daycare of any children born of this civil union.
One good thing is that the school gave a good witness and example of Catholic beliefs in practice. It did not tolerate Mr. Dollar's decision to marry. It did look beyond his sexual proclivities but he crossed the line when deciding to marry. Had MDS went a long, then they would have tacitly approved and the students would think that the Church teaching are just words and mean nothing. Similar to how birth control is regarded today. Instead they did the right thing even though they knew they would be punished for it. Bravo Mr. Held. Not many principals would stand up for the Truth. Saint Michael, Pray for Us.
The EEOC found that “there is reasonable cause to conclude” Dollar was discriminated against because of his sexual orientation.
Interesting. Yet as the story is written, Dollar worked for the school in 2013, and disclosed his intentions before signing a contract for 2014. He was not fired in 2013 for being homosexual.
"Dollar said he informed the school of his marriage plans in October 2013 before he signed a new contract May 1, 2014, to teach for the 2014-2015 term. Held fired him May 21, 2014."
Hard to know what "informed the school" means. In writing? Verbally to a colleague? Verbally to the principal? The one odd detail is that if in October 2013 he gave formal notice of his plans, there was certainly sufficient time for the school to elect not to offer him a contract renewal.
Having Same sex attraction is not the same thing as committing acts of sodomy. Thus merely having the orientation itself is not a behavior. ATTRACTION is entirely internal to one's mind.... being attracted does not guarantee that anything will happen.
Most normal men are attracted to women. But by no means are we forced by genetics or emotions or powerful drive to copulate with every woman we find attractive. The vast majority of us resist our innate and healthy heterosexual attractions by use of this thing called "free will". Thus we can expect Mr. Dollar and others to likewise refrain from acting on their attractions in the same fashion.
Thus a school that is informed that a man has this unnatural attraction might still validly and licitly hire him since it's understood he is not going to behave shamefully at school.
Now....if he declared that he was routinely committing sodomy in addition to being attracted to members of his own sex, and they hired him anyway, that would be grounds for terminating the entire staff that hired him.
If I tried to get a job at a Catholic school and cheerfully announced that I was living with my girlfriend and we were fornicating regularly.... would the school hire me nevertheless? If so, then we have problems with the maturity and sanity of our Catholic schools. Surely we can find qualified individuals who happen to be practicing and mature Catholics!
Are we such failures that we can't find any qualified Catholic willing and able to do the job of band director?
"Hi, I'm about to sign a contract that I intend to break. Where do I sign?"
This situation reeks of a desire for a payout -- I wonder if he (confidentially) chose the students or (confidentially) chose the money?
Given the reaction of students and parents one might find surprising sub-cultures within the ranks of one's own Catholic schools and parishes.
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