US: Judge says Colorado State Patrol has ‘anti-gay culture’
A state administrative law judge in Colorado has delivered a scathing judgment on the State Patrol for having an “anti-gay culture”.
According to the Denver Post, State Personnel Board judge Mary McClatchey ordered the State Patrol to include LGBT issues in diversity training and to appoint a senior officer as a liasion for gay and lesbian troopers.
Her ruling, given on Monday, relates to the case of former State Patrol Capt Brett Williams, who left the force briefly in 2010 to become a pilot, but reapplied several months later.
When he reapplied, he was given a polygraph test which included a question that forced him to reveal his sexual orientation. The question related to a sexual massage received in Thailand, which is not illegal in the country.
Examiners decided he had failed the test because he showed a “significant reaction” to a question about illegal sexual conduct. He was denied employment, despite rules which state polygraph tests must not be the sole reason for rejection and evidence showing that other troopers had been hired after failing the tests.
Judge McClatchey awarded Mr Williams “front pay”, which means the difference between earnings he expected to make and those he makes now as a security guard, on a lesser salary.
