(WWJ) A lesbian couple who worked for the Michigan Department of Corrections is filing a civil rights lawsuit today arising out their treatment while working for the state.
Michelle Wood, 52, who worked at Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer before retiring in October after more than 25 years of service, and girlfriend Loretta Smith, 53, who still works at the Thumb, claim that their civil rights were violated based on their sexual orientation. And when they complained, they say they faced retaliation.
Wood has complained for years about how she has been treated by coworkers due to her sexual orientation, including being referred to on the job, she says, as: a "dyke," "carpet muncher," and being told, "Stanley Steamer has nothing on you."
She says she once had a beaver put on the desktop background of her computer, and another time a taco.
The 'F' word, as used to derogatorily describe gay people, was used on her many times at work, including attacks like, "I can't stand (the F word)" and "(The F word) make me sick," she says in the suit.
After she complained to high level MDOC officials about the abuse, she was retaliated against, the lawsuit says.
"The MDOC even went so far as to accuse Wood, who was known by all to be a lesbian, of having sex with a male prisoner in an attempt to get her fired," the suit claims, adding, "Ms. Wood was followed and spied on by a known LGBTQ hater and harassed so bad she was eventually driven out of the department."
She complained multiple times about how she was being treated, even going as far as to contact the Director of the MDOC, Heidi Washington. The lawsuit says her complaints not only fell on deaf ears, it led to retaliation against her domestic partner, Loretta Smith, who was moved to a less desirable midnight shift.
The couple is represented by renowned civil rights attorney Jon Marko, who obtained an $11.6 million verdict against the MDOC last year.
In a statement, Marko said, "What happened to Michelle and Loretta is not an isolated event, and in today's day-and-age there should be no tolerance of prejudice or discrimination in our state government, whether you are gay or straight, black or white, man or woman, whatever. Hate has no place in our State." Marko says that he "hopes that the new attorney general, Dana Nessel, will fulfill her promise to ensure equality for all of the state's workers, and not hold up justice for Michelle and Loretta."
The case could be groundbreaking as Marko says he wants to use this case to set a precedent in Michigan that state workers are protected from discrimination based on sexual orientation.
