Gay Auditor Sues Against Library of Congress

Last August, Peter TerVeer, a talented gay former auditor for the Library of Congress’s Inspector’s General Office, filed suit against his old boss, John Mech, harassed him with religious homophobia and eventually got TerVeer fired.

Though originally close friends, the two grew apart after Mech’s daughter saw TerVeer liking Two Dads.us Facebook page. After that, the religious lectures began, and TerVeer complained to the Equal Employment Opportunity office and Mech’s supervisor Nicholas Christopher, though to little avail. Mech (with Christopher’s help) allegedly “continued to manufacture a negative paper trail” to downgrade TerVeer’s performance ratings. Advised to take an extended medical leave to deal with stress, he was ultimately fired for missing 37 consecutive work days though the library officials had signed off for disability time off.

The lawsuit claims discrimination based on “sex stereotyping” and violation of Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act. Terveer wants his old job, back pay, compensatory and punitive damages for emotional distress, and an order restraining Mech.