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News :: Civil & Human Rights |
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Carle Hospital Lesbian Discrimination Case Finishes First Week |
Current rating: 0 |
by Kimberlie Kranich
Email: kakranich (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified!)
Phone: 359-9884 |
20 Jun 2004
Modified: 06:40:52 PM |
Former Carle Foundation Hospital pediatric nurse manager, Lynn Sprout, testified before the Urbana Human Relations Commission that she hid her lesbianism from her employer for 15 years until her same-sex partner of 18 years, Linda Schurvinske, became ill and was dying. Within seven months of coming out as lesbian, Ms. Sprout’s partner died and Ms. Sprout was fired. The five Commissioners on the Urbana Human Relations Commission will decide if any part of Ms. Sprout’s dismissal was due to her lesbianism. If they believe it was, they may force the hospital to give Ms. Sprout her job back with back pay and benefits.
(photo of hearing room on first day taken by Ben Grosser) |
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In 12 hours of testimony over four days last week, the Commissioners heard only from Ms. Sprout, Ms. Sprout’s interim boss, Ramona Cheek, vice president of patient care services at Carle, and Ms. Sprout’s job evaluation peer reviewer, Barb Lockhart, a former pediatric nurse at Carle. The public hearing will resume for one day, July 1, at 5pm in the Urbana City Council Chambers, and then resume again in August at dates that are to be determined.
Attorneys for Carle Foundation Hospital, Ellen McLaughlin and Bill Dugan, maintain that Ms. Sprout was fired for “many performance deficiencies” that occurred for months prior to her coming out, that there was “no one incident” that caused her to be fired and that her interim boss, Ms. Cheek, “knew Ms. Sprout was gay” and that “no one cared that Ms. Sprout was gay.”
Attorney Traci Nally was hired by the City of Urbana to try the case under the authority of the City’s Human Rights Ordinance which prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Ms. Nally told the Commissioners that this is a case of “love, death and betrayal.” Ms. Nally further stated that the City will show that the nine reasons Carle listed in Ms. Sprout’s dismissal notice are all pretext.
The hearing is being televised on Urbana Public Television. All witnesses for Carle Foundation Hospital have requested that their testimony not be broadcast to “protect the privacy of our witnesses, many of whom are current Carle employees,” according to an email sent June 15 by John Snyder, Chief Operating Officer of Carle Foundation Hospital. Per Commission Hearing Rules, Carle was granted its request.
Did Carle employees know Ms. Sprout was gay before she told her supervisors? If Carle employees knew Ms. Sprout was gay, did Ms. Sprout, who worked with children, cross a line when she outed herself?
When Ms. Nally asked Ramona Cheek, vice president of patient care, if it were true that she was not responsive when Ms. Sprout told her of her sexual orientation, Ms. Cheek replied, “Yes, I did not respond to her.” When asked if she knew Ms. Sprout was gay before she came out, Ms. Cheek replied, “I don’t remember having a thought about it one way or the other.”
On cross examination, Ms. McLaughlin asked Ms. Cheek why she said nothing when Ms. Sprout came out. “My job is to listen,” Ms. Cheek replied. “I know Lynn considered Linda family, that they had children together and lived together.”
Ms. Sprout told the Commissioners she hid her sexual orientation by referring to Ms. Shervinske as her “roommate,” by brushing off questions from her boss, Deb Maust, about the gold band on her ring finger, and by not having a picture of Ms. Shervinske on her desk. Ms. Sprout said she believed she was in a “don’t ask, don’t tell” position with regard to her job in pediatrics.
If the Commission finds in Ms. Sprout’s favor, Carle is likely to appeal the decision. An appeal will be heard by a single judge in circuit court whose job it is to decide whether or not the commission heard the case properly. The circuit judge’s ruling can be appealed to the appellate court. The appellate court’s decision can be appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Commissioners hearing the case are Carl Reisman, Peter Resnick, Marion Knight, Ivon Ridgeway and Lisa Mosely from Urbana. The hearing is being presided over by Don Jackson from Peoria. |
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Re: Carle Hospital Lesbian Discrimination Case Finishes First Week |
by Linda
lgbtequalrights (nospam) cs.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
21 Jun 2004
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Who is Don Jackson and why is someone from Peoria presiding over a case in Urbana? |
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Re: Carle Hospital Lesbian Discrimination Case Finishes First Week |
by Carol
cp1757 (nospam) hotmail.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
21 Jun 2004
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"Donald Jackson, a human rights officer from Peoria, will act as a judge and he will make rulings and keep everything on track, Clark said. Jackson specializes in labor and employment law." (from the DI article http://www.dailyillini.com/news/2133 )
He may or may not be the same Donald Jackson who is the president of the Peoria branch of the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People. |
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Re: Carle Hospital Lesbian Discrimination Case Finishes First Week |
by Tracy Varrecchia(Sprout)
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
12 Jul 2004
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My mom is strong, wonderful, and beautiful. No matter the out come of this trial she is a winner for standing up for what she believes in. She should be looked at by the city of Champaign-Urbana as a role model for being a great nurse,a great parent, a great friend, and a great citizen. All who will get the privledge of truly knowing her in this lifetime will benefit from it. I am very proud of her! |
