At the conclusion of a previous meeting between Syl Tang and two employees, Daniel Simmons and Bob Franklin, Daniel asked Tang about the same-sex partner benefits that he had requested earlier, incidentally informing Bob Franklin that he was homosexual. Bob expressed both discomfort and disapproval, and refused to continue to work with Daniel as a result of this revelation. Tang suggested meeting with each of them separately to discuss their concerns and then to regroup and discuss a solution. The individual meetings have taken place and now they are meeting together. 

Profile:

• Syl Tang is the Senior Supervisor of Research and Production at EarthFirstPharmaceuticals, a company dedicated to the research and production of vaccines for various diseases. She manages eight different teams with specific areas of specialization.
• Daniel Simmons is a Vaccines Manager. He is an expert in tropical plants and botanical remedies. He leads a team of scientists and collaborates with other research teams at EarthFirst. He is also active in procuring funding for further research.
• Bob Franklin is a Natural Resources Manager and is an expert in certain types of chemical re-actives. In his role as Natural Resources Manager, he leads a team of scientists and collaborates with other research teams at EarthFirst. He is also active in procuring funding for further research.

Back History:Syl has been the supervisor for seven years and is highly respected and regarded. Her teams often cross-collaborate on special projects – each team has a specialized field of expertise. The teams are quite large, totaling over 100 people. With such a large department, Syl has less one on one contact with the employees than she would like. 

Simmons and Franklin have not worked together often, just on one or two short-term projects. They are currently collaborating on a high-pressure project, heading down the homestretch. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened at the office for a while. Tang is compiling her end of the month reports, without much stress or pressure. Simmons and Franklin are at the stage of their joint project where they are separately recording the joint findings as it pertains to their field of expertise. 

Simmons is gay and just started planning a commitment ceremony with his partner of 4 years. Simmons has never made any declaration in the office about being homosexual – some people know, some don’t.

Scene Set-up: Simmons, Franklin, and Tang meet to discuss how they can meet the project’s objectives.

Scene Location: Tang’s office

The Meeting - Summary: Syl explains that she and Bob have discussed a solution that would enable two of Bob’s employees to take on a larger responsibility and still meet the needs of the project. Daniel states that Bob simply doesn’t want to work with him anymore because he is a gay man. He is concerned that if the word gets out that Bob was uncomfortable working with Daniel and found another solution, then a precedent will be set that negatively impact Daniel’s career. Syl argues that if Daniel didn’t get along with another co-worker she would not make Daniel work with him/her if there was another equally viable solution. She says that no one’s personal life will be discussed outside of this meeting and Daniel strongly disagrees. Syl suggests that Daniel come up with an alternative proposal and discuss it with her on Monday.

Afterthoughts – Summary: Syl admits that Daniel has a good point because Bob probably will tell others that Daniel is gay. She doesn’t feel that Daniel is being discriminated against because as long as the project is completed well, he will receive the credit regardless of how the other team was staffed. She suggests that Bob should probably attend sensitivity training but says that there’s not much that can be done about employee’s personal feelings.

According to EarthFirst’s Harassment policy, is Daniel being discriminated against?