Maine Employment Lawyer Blog

On June 25, 2010, a jury in Cumberland County Superior Court, in Portland, Maine, found that Express Jet discriminated against a former employee, Edward Russell, because of his sexual orientation. The jury awarded a total of $1,047,000 in damages to Mr. Russell. Express Jet discriminated against Mr. Russell when it prevented him from applying for management positions that he wanted. Attorney Guy Loranger represented Mr. Russell and attorney Alison Bell represented Express Jet at the trial. "This guy was completely qualified to do the job," Loranger said. "The jury said it didn't matter his color, his race, his national origin or his sexual preference -- he was qualified to do the job and you should have allowed him to do it."

On July 14, 2009 the Maine Human Rights Commission (MHRC) found that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Home Depot discriminated against Nicolette McGinley because of her sexual orientation and because she complained about sexual harassment. Ms. McGinley worked at the Home Depot store in South Portland, Maine. The MHRC found that Home Depot discriminated against Ms. McGinley when it terminated her employment. At the time of her termination, Ms. McGinley was an Assistant Store Manager. The details of the case are set forth in the MHRC Investigator's report.