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By: Chris Johnson COMMENTS
 
A Virginia court has determined that a state employee who alleged he was fired for being gay has no recourse in the state legal system.
The Circuit Court of the City of Martinsville made the decision despite a 2006 executive order from Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) prohibiting discrimination in the public workforce based on sexual orientation.
In the decision, dated June 15, the court determined that with no statute prohibiting discrimination for gay people, Kaine’s executive order provides “no subject matter jurisdiction” and doesn’t “create causes of action nor waive sovereign immunity.”
The case centers on Michael Moore, a former Martinsville, Va., resident who alleged he was forced to resign from the Virginia Museum of Natural History in November 2006 for being gay.
According to Moore, during his evaluation in October 2006, the museum’s executive director, Tim Gette said, “Michael, there are board members that are aware you are gay, and I do not appreciate you hiding that from me.” Moore has said his evaluation qualified him for a pay increase, but he was still asked to resign the following month.
Michael Hamar, who’s gay and Moore’s attorney, said he’s “disappointed” in the court’s decision.
“It looks as if they’re saying the executive order in 2006 doesn’t basically do anything,” Hamar said.
Hamar said “it’s likely” that he’ll file an appeal and noted he’s talking with the American Civil Liberties Union for assistance because the case has “become a statewide issue.”
Gordon Hickey, a Kaine spokesperson, said the governor “feels very strongly” about non-discrimination in the state workforce, but that the executive order would be enforced within the executive branch of government as opposed to the court system.
“The executive order remains in place, and it will be enforced as an internal policy,” he said. “If anybody is found to have been fired or discriminated against based on sexual orientation, they can be dealt with through personnel procedures of the state.”
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