When Hernan Cortes began working for Holiday Inn in 2006, he was pleased with the job.
"It was an excellent work environment," said Cortes.
Things changed radically in August 2009, when, according to Cortes, his new male supervising manager began sexually harassing him and, ironically, discriminating against him due to his sexual orientation.
Sexual harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation, two forms of workplace hostility, have intersected in a case involving employees of a Holiday Inn franchise in Elmhurst, Ill. The hotel is run by The Bricton Group, which is based in Park Ridge, Ill.
Two employees of the hotel have sought legal advice due to the alleged incidents.
Dan Kosman, the second employee seeking legal assistance, began working for the hotel in June 2009. Around August, his supervising manager—the same manager who also supervised over Cortes—allegedly began sexual harassing him as well.
"I'd walk by and he'd pinch my butt," Kosman said. "I'd be by the filing cabinet, bending over, and he'd come over and bump me purposely.
Kosman added that the manager also committed more lewd actions, such as exposing his penis to him. Cortes reportedly faced similar harassment.
Discrimination based on sexual orientation also came into play, when other employees were present, said Kosman and Cortes.
"He called me 'F squared,' which mean 'f'ing faggot,'" Cortes said.
"As the harassment went on, he was obviously a closeted gay," Kosman said. "When there were other people around, he was definitely throwing [ homophobic words ] around to whomever he was talking to. I would be somewhere on the sidelines … and he'd say, 'Oh, that guy's a fag.'"
Kosman sought the advice of Lambda Legal, an organization that offers legal assistance to the LGBT community, in December. Lambda referred Kosman to his current lawyer, Betty Tsamis.
After Kosman began looking for legal assistance, Cortes joined him.
The situation was difficult to report internally, as the hotel had no clear-cut method of filing such a form of workplace hostility, according to Tsamis. Calls by Windy City Times to the human resources department at the hotel were not returned.
The matter grew more complicated because the manager is friends with the son of the general manager and the human resources manager, according to Kosman.
"Because there was not a policy of reporting in place, I wrote a letter to Bricton Group," Tsamis said.
She sent the letter in early January. Bricton never responded in writing. Instead, they had an insurance adjuster reply back, Tsamis said. Calls by Windy City Times to the Bricton Group, the owner of the specific Holiday Inn franchise where the alleged harassment took place, were not returned.
"I've been practicing employment law for almost 10 years, and I've never been personally involved in an instance where a company, instead of responding, had an insurance adjuster respond," Tsamis said. "It's a very unusual practice to have an insurance adjuster respond to the very serious complaints of an employee."
Employers oftentimes do not acknowledge the significance of same-sex sexual harassment cases, according to Tsamis.
"Even when companies acknowledge the existence of a complaint, they will attempt to paint the complainer as motivated by financial gain rather than as an employee who is lodging a legitimate complaint," Tsamis said.
After the lack of response by the Bricton Group, Tsamis filed a sexual-harassment complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They do not accept complaints regarding sexual orientation, according to its Web site. Because of this, Tsamis cross-filed the complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights, which enforces Illinois' policy against workplace sexual orientation-based discrimination.
Holiday Inn's corporate officials were seemingly unaware of any pending litigation when Windy City Times contacted them. They did not even have a record of the complaint, according to an employee. They refused to comment beyond this.
Both Cortes and Kosman are still employed with the hotel. It has made them feel uncomfortable, as they still have to see the manager. While Kosman's shifts have been switched opposite of the manager, they still cross paths. Cortes still works with the manager directly.
"I feel extremely uncomfortable," Cortes said. "He is still in the same management position at the front desk. It's scary to be near him, in front of him."
They are still waiting on a response from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Illinois Department of Human Rights.
"I'm just hoping that it won't happen to anyone else," Kosman said.
