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Appeal denied for
gay staffer fired from Nevada reformatory for boys

Appeal denied for
gay staffer fired from Nevada reformatory for boys

A man seeking to be reinstated in a job he said he lost at Nevada's reformatory for boys in Elko because he's gay and black was turned down Wednesday in Carson City on procedural grounds. Hearing officer Pat Dolan said John Young III, who was told last month by the superintendent of the Nevada Youth Training Center that he couldn't stay on as a group supervisor, filed his appeal with the wrong entity and should refile it elsewhere. Dolan said he lacked jurisdiction given the allegations of discrimination and that Young, if he hadn't already done so, should take his case "without delay" to the state attorney general, the state Equal Rights Commission, and the state personnel department, among others. Young, a probationary employee who hired on with the state in February 2005 and was assigned to Elko last April, said he never got any on-the-job training, job evaluations, formal reprimands, or even verbal warnings about his work at NYTC prior to getting his walking papers February 3. Dolan said Young wrote that his problems stemmed from the fact that "I'm an African-American whose sexual orientation is of the same-sex gender, which in this field is frowned upon." The hearing officer said a review of Young's personnel file showed no evidence of evaluations, reprimands, or counseling, just as Young claimed. Dolan also said work performance standards for Young's position are required by law to be on file but were not. While it's standard practice in Nevada to allow agencies to dismiss probationary workers without cause, Dolan said that standard "does not empower an appointing authority to reject such a probationary employee for any cause." State law says an employer can't fire someone or otherwise discriminate against that person because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, or national origin. Dolan added that Young's allegations raise "serious concerns" about his treatment that need to be resolved. (AP)

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