By EMS1 Staff
BRIDGETON, N.J. — A former part-time EMT was awarded $90,000 after claiming he was discriminated against and harassed by colleagues.
NJ.com reported that Donald Hymer Jr. filed a lawsuit in 2015 claiming he was passed over for promotions and fired after colleagues “perceived” him to be gay. The city, an EMT supervisor and several colleagues were named in the complaint.
Hymer alleged that there was “repeated and severe discriminatory treatment on the basis of his perceived sexual orientation,” according to the suit. He said he was called “gay” in a “derogatory” manner and his sexual orientation was “discussed and mocked” by colleagues on social media.
In the suit, he said the actions caused him “severe emotional distress, pain and suffering, humiliation and damage to his reputation.” He also said the comments were “outrageous and beyond all bounds of human decency.”
The city settled the case, but admitted no wrongdoing, according to the report.