California loan
company sued for antigay harassment

The California-based mortgage lender E-loan faces a lawsuit alleging that the company was slow to respond after employees complained of shocking antigay and ethnic slurs by a company supervisor. Two employees have reportedly resigned from E-loan as a result of the harassment. Other employees are incredulous that she remains a supervisor there. The lawsuit targets the behavior of one supervisor, Jonni Guelde, who according to news reports seemingly saw fit to say anything that came to her. The suit, filed in Alameda County on October 14, claims that Guelde openly and actively used harassing slurs in the workplace on a day-to-day basis. Yavante Thomas-Guess is a plaintiff in the case. She told the Bay Area Reporter, "My first experience was when I heard someone being called a fag." Such terms as "hairy-lipped dyke" and "tar baby" are just a few samples of the vast repertoire of abusive language allegedly used by Guelde to intimidate, harass, and demean subordinates at E-loan. The suit says Guelde also bragged that her harassment of one transgender employee at a previous position caused the employee to commit suicide. E-loan is a publicly traded company and is subject to state law and federal regulation. The company offered no comment to the Bay Area Reporter. (John Wetzl, Sirius OutQ News)