8 GAY PEOPLE'S CHronicle AUGUST 1, 1997

Power company ignored harassment, worker says

Continued from page 1

a group of co-workers had labeled Morrison a "homo" and upon hearing that Lowe wanted to be "just like Morrison" they began to harass him about the same issues.

Lowe, who is straight, claims that this harassment occurred "multiple times daily" He identified the alleged harassers as Bill Wyant, Don Schlegel and several workers in the Generation Planning Department. Both Schlegel and Wyant have cubicles adjacent to those in Lowe's section.

Lowe said that he has heard individuals from this group say they are proud that AEP is "a homo-free work environment" and that "there are no rainbows in the parking lot at AEP." He has also heard them make disparaging remarks about women, blacks and other minorities.

In October of 1996, Lowe decide he had had enough and took his complaints to his immediate supervisor Jeffrey Laine.

Lowe says that at first Laine listened to him but little was done. As the harassment continued unabated, Lowe says he began documenting each incident in detail, recording all the incidents of the past months of harassment.

According to complaints filed with the company, harassment took place around the cubicles where the men work, but also in the company gym and other public areas like the building lobby and general grounds around the building.

Threatened with "fragging'

Lowe reported that on one occasion while using the gym, he was surrounded by some of his harassers who then said, "There's enough of us to kick the faggot's ass." Lowe says that he has been called a "weight-lifting faggot" and endured comments like “we don't want these homos in the showers with us.”

In one incident, Lowe claims that Schlegel threatened to “frag” him, which means blow him up with a hand grenade.

Lowe says that in addition to the "fragging" threat there have been several other incidents where his harassers have threatened to shoot him or cause him some other type of physical harm.

Lowe recounted an incident with Bill Wyant which took place in front of a security camera on a walkway that is connected to the main office building.

Lowe says that on a jog during his lunch break on May 22, he and Wyant got into a confrontation on the walkway. On the next day, Lowe says he spoke to supervisor Laine and requested that he look at the tape as evidence. He followed up this verbal request with a memo given to Laine on May 26.

Wyant said that it was Lowe who attacked him and made threats towards him. "He became violent towards me. I have no idea why," he said. "He seems to be harboring a lot of hate."

Lowe also implicates several AEP security guards and other personnel in his harassment complaints. In a June 6 incident, a guard who Lowe says was in on the harass--

ment, was standing in front of the elevator. As Lowe approached the area, he says the guard "reached into his coat like he was about to pull out a revolver and came out with his empty hand towards me just like he would draw a gun." Lowe says he asked Myron Adams in memo written June 6 to look at this incident on the security camera videos. Adams is Laine's supervisor.

Security videotapes, or not?

On June 11, Adams told Lowe that would be impossible since “there are no video tapes made at AEP." As far as the walkway incident with Bill Wyant, Lowe said Laine told him it was erased and that AEP only keeps tapes for two days.

Ernest Matenklott, who is the security manager for Galbreath and Lasalle Partners, the company in charge of security at the AEP complex, said that cameras “are on the interior and exterior, in the parking lots, on the walkway that goes towards the river, along the Long Street side of the building, as well as in the lobby areas and other building floors and interior areas.'

""

Mattenklot added "AEP's retention schedule was one year for all records."

When asked whether there would be any situation in which tapes were erased in less than the normal year's retention time, Mattenklot said, “absolutely not.” “We should never have to erase before the year is out

Eventually, Lowe took his complaints to Jim Bagnoli in the Human Resource Department at AEP, Lowe filed his first memo of complaint with the Human! sources department on November 26, 1996. In this memo Lowe list threats he had received and detailed all the harassment.” In this

claims that he volunteered to take a polygraph test.

"I thought that it was the only way that they would find out the truth," he said. According to Lowe, Bagnah would investigate the accusations.

No evidence of harassment

In January of 1997, Bagnoli sent Lowe a I no evimemo concluding that he had found i dence of harassment. He quoted from one where Bagnoli had written, "the results my investigation provide no evidence to confirm your allegations of harassment and threats."

When contacted, Bagnoli said he had "no direct information about the investigation” and that he would "contact several others who were in charge of parts of the investigation." When he called back, he said that company policy prevents him from discussing cases about specific employees, but he added that AEP prohibits harassment of any employee for any reason."

Bagnoli said that he had conducted an investigation into Lowe's charges a few months ago and that he had talked to "all the people that Lowe had named," including Wyant, Schlegel and several others. Bagnoli said that after talking to all these alleged

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harassers he had concluded that "there was no evidence of harassment."

"I am at a loss as to where to go from here," he said.

When contacted for this story, Laine declined to comment, saying, "everything I have to say, Bagnoli has already said to you."

Unaware of investigation

Although Bagnoli said that he had spoken to alleged harassers Wyant and Schlegel while conducting his investigation, both men denied that he ever spoke to them.

"Bagnoli has never spoken to me about the investigation," Wyant said. Schlegel added that had not been contacted by Bagnoli.

partment is investigating Lowe's allegations of harassment and threats.

Lowe says that since his harassers and others at AEP became aware of his intentions to seek legal action, the epithets and gay bashing has become much more coded. Lowe says that now some of his alleged harassers will walk by his office and say the word homo and after a brief pause follow it with sapien. But Lowe is also quick to point out that since his intentions to go public with these allegations have spread at AEP, the harassment has slowed down.

"These people know that they are in trouble for what they have been doing," he said.

AEP

KAIZAAD KOTWAL

Duke Lowe, in front of his employer's headquarters. Left, the AEP building.

Both men insisted that they were not aware of any "official" investigation.

"I'm very surprised to hear of this." Wyant said.

"I know nothing about it," Schlegel said of the investigation.

Lowe says that he was appalled that Bagnoli's "so-called investigation" found no evidence in his favor.

"But," added Lowe, "what upset me even more was that Bagnoli and others began to blame me for harassing others. Lowe said that company officials discouraged him from trying to speak to witnesses and "threatened to fire me if I confronted anyone for harassing me."

In the same January 9 memo in which Bagnoli concluded that Lowe had not been harassed or threatened, Bagnoli wrote: “While you may wish to discuss your concerns with others, I must caution you not to say or do anything that constitutes harassment of other employees. If we receive any complaints from other employees that they are being harassed by you, we will take appropriate action."

Having found no recourse within AEP, Lowe says he has no choice but to seek other avenues for his case. Lowe hoped to bring attention to his situation by marching in the 1997 Columbus Lesbian-Gay Pride Parade on June 29. He carried a placard that read, "AEP threats to fire me for reporting discrimination of gays without witnesses."

Before he sent his first memo of harassment to the company, Lowe began to consult seriously with attorneys, and on July 14, he filed a complaint with the police. Detective Wes Johnson of the Columbus Police De-

.

City ordinance has no teeth

Donna Red Wing, national field director for the Human Rights Campaign, a lesbiangay lobbying group, said that Lowe's case demonstrates how the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act would protect straight people as well as gays and lesbians.

"ENDA is not about special rights for anyone. It's about equal protection," she said. "This man who is perceived to be gay needs protection as much as someone who is."

Phil Martin of Stonewall Columbus echoed Red Wing's sentiments when he said that, "the really sad part is that even with the city ordinance in Columbus, people think that they are more protected than they really are."

Columbus has a city ordinance that states that in addition to race, gender and religion, that no one shall be discriminated against in housing, employment or accommodation based on sexuality and sexual orientation.

"However, what's really sick," continued Martin, "is that there is no real enforcement of that ordinance. In Columbus there is a lot of lip service, a lot of facades but no real protection."

Martin suggested that Lowe might seek recourse through the Community Relations Commission to deal with his allegations. However, he was quick to caution that even if the commission mediated and eventually ruled in Lowe's favor, "there wouldn't be any real enforcement of that ruling.”

“Unfortunately, what Lowe is going through happens much more often than people recognize."

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