Discrimination lawsuit claims Georgia Lowe’s manager was ‘out to get’ gay employee
A former worker at a Lowe’s in Macon is suing the home-improvement giant in a sexual orientation discrimination lawsuit which claims a manager at the store was “out to get him” because the employee is gay.
The employee, David Sams, 53, of Bibb County, began working at the Lowe’s off Eisenhower Parkway in July 2018 after transferring from a Lowe’s in Houston County, where he had taken a job as a sales associate in fall 2015.
Alleged discrimination
According to the lawsuit, which was filed Oct. 15 in U.S. District Court in Macon, Sams’ manager at Lowe’s began discriminating against him in fall 2018 “because of (Sams’) sexual orientation.”
The lawsuit further states that the manager in question, according to Sams, stated “at a manager’s (sic) meeting that he did not want a certain type of people — i.e. gay people — working at his store.”
The lawsuit goes on to mention that other managers at the store told Sams “to be careful” because the manager in question was “out to get” Sams.
The civil filing also claims the manager referred to Sams as “a lazy piece of (expletive).”
Numerous complaints
Sams is said to have “made numerous complaints” to a human resources officer and that afterward the manager in question allegedly began having Sams “written up” in an effort to fire Sams.
The lawsuit notes that Sams filed a complaint with a Lowe’s corporate human resources department in March 2019 and that he was fired nine days later based on “the result of a customer complaint, which was not true.”
An email sent to Lowe’s seeking comment was not answered.
Merit pay raise
Sams’ attorney, AdianR. Miller, of Atlanta, said by phone that “one of the things that stood out to us is that in (Sams’) separation notice the official reason given was unsatisfactory job performance. But what’s weird is that (the) last paycheck he got also included a merit pay raise.”
Miller described Sams as “really well liked” by co-workers.
“The problems,” Miller said, “didn’t start until he’d been there a couple of years and he transferred to the Macon location and came under the leadership of an individual who had an issue with him.”
This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 1:00 AM.