An American policeman has received $20 million in compensation at an employment tribunal after he said that he was overlooked for a promotion more than 20 times because of his sexuality.
Sgt. Keith Wildhaber, who was working at the St. Louis County Police Department, claimed that he was overlooked 23 times!
And when he complained about it, he was then transferred to another department. It was discovered that his seniors considered Sgt. Wildhaber ‘too gay.’
Guy Means, the cop’s captain, called Sgt. Wildhaber ‘fruity’ in private and told a colleague’s partner that he was “way too out there with his gayness and he needed to tone it down,” according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Mr. Means tried to claim during the lawsuit that he did not know the colleague’s partner or what he told her. But the jury heard from the partner, Donna Woodland, who also provided photos from the night revealing that they had spoken to each other.
Mr. Wildhaber’s attorney, Russ Riggan, said to the court: “The county should be ashamed. Our community deserves better.”
After only three hours of deliberation, the jury sided with Sgt. Wildhaber.
“We wanted to send a message. If you discriminate, you are going to pay a big price… You can’t defend the indefensible,” the jury foreman said to reporters.
Mr. Wildhaber has been awarded $10 million in punitive damages for discrimination and $1.9 million in actual damages.
In addition, he received $999,000 in actual damages and $7 million in punitive damages. The total amount is almost $20 million.
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Replaced!