[Imc-radio] Lesbian discrimination hearing tomorrow

[Kranich, Kimberlie]

Dear Friends,

An important lesbian discrimination case is going before the Urbana Human
Relations Commission this Wednesday (May 14) at 5:30pm in the Urbana City
Council Chambers, 400 Vine Street, Urbana. Your presence is requested. All
you need to do is come and sit with us.

We need to FILL THE SEATS of the City Council Chambers to show community
support for the case and to put pressure on the offending instituion to
change its policies.   

Lynn Sprout was fired from her job as a pediatric nurse and manager at Carle
Foundation Hospital after her lesbian partner of 18 years got terminally ill
and Lynn was denied family leave to take care of her. (more details further
down in this email).

This initial meeting tomorrow will be about the administration of the case.
Things
like estimating how long the hearing will be, when it will be, and what
evidence and witnesses will be produced will be discussed. We will find out
who the hearing officer will be at that time.  This will be an
administrative type meeting though and so no one will be testifying. The
substance of the case is unlikely to be discussed in any detail.  

The press will be there because we will be there en masse.  A press release
is going out this afternoon.

We want to send a strong message to the adjudicators of Lynn's case and to
Carle that
she has strong community support.  All you need to do is show up and be a
witness to the process on Wednesday.

Please let me know if we can count on you. I am keeping track of numbers.

For background on the case, see information below. Thanks.

Kimberlie
*******************
Lynn Sprout was employed as a pediatric nurse at Carle Foundation Hospital
for 15 years, the last three as a manager. When her same-sex partner became
ill with non-alcohol related liver disease, Ms. Sprout took vacation days to
care for her. Hospital administrators didn't approve, but instead of
offering Ms. Sprout family leave, they offered her the choice of a severance
package or a 90-day probation period. Ms. Sprout refused the settlement
package and chose probation. 

"I admit that I didn't have my head in my job when Linda was ill and dying,"
Ms. Sprout said. "But I'm a darn good nurse. My job was part of my identity.
During the last week of Linda's life, I missed work entirely. The hospital
told me that if I valued my job, I would return or be fired for
abandonment." 

When Linda Schurvinske died, Ms. Sprout had no vacation days left to attend
her funeral. Her staff donated their time so Ms. Sprout could bury Ms.
Schurvinske.

Ms. Sprout passed her 90-day probationary period.
"The hospital told me that they were surprised that I had pulled myself out
of this 'mess,'" Ms. Sprout said. "This wasn't a mess. This lady was my
life."

Six month's after Ms. Schurvinske 's death, Carle Foundation Hospital fired
Ms. Sprout.

Ms. Sprout's legal challenge seeks reinstatement of her job and a family,
medical and bereavement leave policy for homosexual employees at Carle
Foundation Hospital. 

Ms. Sprout now works at a nursing home in Champaign for $20,000 less per
year than her job as a pediatric nurse manager at Carle.

I don't know if many folks realize this or not, but if Lynn wins her case,
she will set legal precedent. Lynn's legal defense team believes that the
Urbana Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual
orientation in employment, covers family and medical leave. The only reason
Lynn was denied such leave while caring for her terminally ill partner of 18
years, was because she is lesbian. Carle admits in writing that they denied
Lynn such leave because "she is lesbian." Carle says in writing that Lynn
was an excellent nurse. Carle says that they might consider hiring Lynn
again someday but not in pediatrics!

The federal Family Medical Leave Act does not apply to the domestic partners
of homosexual employees, BUT it DOES NOT trump local laws that are more
inclusive and provide greater protections than federal law. The federal act
says so itself.

If Lynn wins her case, cities and states across the country that have local
ordinances similar to Champaign-Urbana's may have to grant family medical
leave to homosexual employees whose domestic partner's are ill. This could
be a landmark case!

Lynn's case is THE FIRST challenge to employment discrimination based on
sexual orientation under the Urbana Ordinance that anyone can remember. The
ordinance has been in place since the mid-1970s.