A Robins Air Power Base worker is suing the Air Power, alleging he was discriminated in opposition to after his supervisors discovered he was homosexual, in accordance with court docket information.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, says Brandon Solomon is searching for $300,000 in damages over the allegations that two of his supervisors discriminated in opposition to and harassed him after they discovered he was a homosexual man. He additionally talked about within the lawsuit that he’s the one Black man at his workplace, whereas his coworkers and supervisors had been white.
The lawsuit was filed in opposition to Frank Kendall, the secretary of the Division of the Air Power. Others who supervised Solomon had been named within the lawsuit however weren’t listed as defendants. A lawsuit solely represents one facet of an argument, and Kendall’s crew hasn’t filed a authorized response but. Robins Air Power Base officers declined to touch upon the allegations.
Solomon is an data methods safety supervisor who nonetheless works for the Air Power. He by no means disclosed to his supervisors or colleagues that he was a homosexual man till April 2019, when one in every of his supervisors, Scott Buono, approached him after a gathering asking for the contact data of a automobile detailer who occurred to be Solomon’s boyfriend.
After Solomon stated he was in a relationship with the automobile detailer, Buono pressed for extra data on his involvement and sexual orientation, which made Solomon uncomfortable, in accordance with the lawsuit.
By this level, Solomon had labored for the Air Power for roughly 9 years and had by no means been subjected to disciplinary motion till his sexual orientation turned identified, in accordance with the lawsuit.
What had been the allegations?
Solomon began going through completely different therapy at work after his dialog with Buono, in accordance with his lawsuit. He stated he felt his supervisors monitored him extra closely afterward, inquiring about audits he carried out at work, checking his clock-in instances even if he had versatile hours and stored up together with his work, and eradicating him from a particular entry program.
The lawsuit says Buono admitted “he had requested that different workers monitor Mr. Solomon’s actions within the office.”
Solomon was suspended a number of instances for points that different workers had, however they weren’t handled as harshly, in accordance with the lawsuit.
Solomon alleged that his bosses, Buono and Joshua Droz, additionally stated he’d been accused of constructing a remark about “bringing a gun into the office,” however they later advised Solomon there was no proof he stated that and the accusation got here from a coworker, in accordance with the lawsuit. Solomon alleged within the court docket doc that the coworker was “identified to make detrimental feedback within the office regarding members of the LGBTQ+ neighborhood.”
That worker wasn’t disciplined over the false allegation, Solomon’s lawsuit alleged.
Solomon additionally stopped being invited to lunches or different gatherings, in accordance with his lawsuit, and wasn’t awarded a increase regardless of award-winning efficiency at his job. When he was awarded a increase in a while, he alleged it was minimal in comparison with his colleagues and resolved or unfounded issues had been introduced up as a part of the reasoning.
Solomon was abruptly moved to a different group contained in the Air Power base in August 2020, and Buono and Droz not supervised him, in accordance with his lawsuit. However months after the reassignment, Buono and Diaz had been nonetheless recognized as his rater and supervisor for value determinations.
In October 2020, administration discovered categorized materials in a cubicle Solomon used to work at, which was locked in a submitting cupboard, in accordance with his lawsuit. Administration argued that discovering the paperwork wasn’t a safety incident, however Buono famous the scenario in Solomon’s file anyway.
Solomon filed a criticism with the Air Power Base’s designated Equal Alternative workplace based mostly on the discrimination he confronted from Buono and Droz. A 14-day suspension that he was going through was lowered to seven days.
After Solomon was reassigned, he confronted points together with his new boss, Paulette Polk, over his time card punches which had been rectified however nonetheless led to an argument, in accordance with Solomon’s lawsuit. He alleged that she repeatedly requested for his whereabouts, which made him and others uncomfortable.
Polk advised Droz she was ending Solomon’s project because of “unprofessionalism and insubordination as a direct results of the incident,” in accordance with the lawsuit.
Droz and Buono advised Solomon he’d be reassigned once more, however they stalled the reassignment as soon as they discovered Solomon made a criticism in opposition to them, in accordance with the lawsuit.
Solomon had backwards and forwards together with his supervisors over the entry he misplaced to a particular entry program and his suspensions, which he stated he wasn’t given a chance to enchantment.
A yr later, beneath a brand new supervisor named Timothy Avera, Solomon knowledgeable him concerning the discrimination he confronted with Buono and Droz. Avera advised Solomon that he was conscious of the criticism he made, however confessed that he took no motion, in accordance with the lawsuit.
Solomon was once more assigned to a different group inside the Air Power base however struggled to carry out his duties as a result of he misplaced entry to a particular program and was not be eligible for promotion, in accordance with the lawsuit.
In the previous couple of years, Solomon has repeatedly tried to file formal complaints in opposition to superiors over harassment, his lawsuit says.
Solomon is suing the secretary of the Air Power as a consultant of the company, in accordance with his lawyer, Kenneth Barton III. His lawyer stated the folks accused of misconduct could be concerned within the case as witnesses.
