Mount de Sales, fired gay band director settle discrimination lawsuit
Mount de Sales Academy and its former band director have reached a confidential settlement, resolving a discrimination suit that Flint Dollar filed against the private school after his firing last year.
Dollar, who now lives in New York, alleged that he was fired from the Macon school in 2014 because of his plans to marry his same-sex partner. He subsequently filed suit, contending that he had been discriminated against because of his sexual orientation.
His lawyer, Charles E. Cox, filed a motion to dismiss the case Friday.
In an e-mailed statement Tuesday, Mount de Sales President David Held said, “The parties have reached a confidential settlement to resolve this matter to the mutual satisfaction of both parties.”
Cox responded to a request for comment with a similar statement.
In the lawsuit, Dollar sought back pay, reinstatement to his job, compensation for his emotional pain and suffering, and attorney’s fees.
Cox said he couldn’t comment on any terms of the settlement.
Dollar’s suit was filed June 29, the Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The filing date was a coincidence, Cox said.
Dollar said he informed the school of his marriage plans in October 2013 before he signed a new contract May 1, 2014, to teach for the 2014-2015 term. Held fired him May 21, 2014.
The Catholic school released a letter last year saying that Dollar wasn’t fired because he’s gay, but because same-sex marriage goes against Catholic doctrine.
An investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determined “there is reasonable cause to conclude” Dollar was discriminated against because of his sexual orientation.
Dollar maintained in his suit that he complied with the school’s Professional Excellence Standards during his employment. The school’s faculty handbook doesn’t require teachers to be members of the Catholic church or that they adhere to the church’s teachings on marriage.
The handbook says the school is an equal employment opportunity employer and strives to comply with laws prohibiting various kinds of discrimination, including sexual orientation and marital status.
To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398 or find her on Twitter@awomackmacon.
This story was originally published August 11, 2015 at 10:46 PM with the headline "Mount de Sales, fired gay band director settle discrimination lawsuit ."