lowing protests from state legislators and
Yale students. A local Boy Scout Coun-
cil conducted an investigation into the
private life of a Scout leader rumored to
be gay and then ordered him to stay away
from Scout functions. Robert Fiscus,
president of the local chapter if the Unit-
ed Way said funding a group with a pol-
icy of discrimination is contradictory for
the charity. “We are opposed to dis-
crimination in whatever form it takes.
The protest by gays, students, and leg-
islators helped us focus on rapidly com-
pleting our long-standing review of our
anti-discrimination policy”. A spokes-
person for the Boy Scouts defended the
organization’s right to choose who par-
ticipates. “We don’t discriminate” said
national spokesperson Robert Walker.
“We differentiate in terms of what our
constituency tells us they want.” (The
Washington Blade)

Court Backs Privacy

New York, NY — A federal appeals court
in New York ruled in early February that
a person has a constitutional right to pri-
vacy about HIV infection. The decision
reinstituted a suit against the city of New
York by a man who said that his rights
had been violated by the issuance of a
press release describing a city-brokered
settlement of a job discrimination suit he
had brought against Delta Airlines. The
three judge panel unanimously ruled that
the man did not waive his right to con-
fidentiality about his status simply be-

cause he filed a claim with a public agen-
cy. The city had argued that the man had
waived his right to privacy by filing a
claim with a public agency (The City Hu-
man Rights Commission) The court dis-
agreed, saying that the settlement was not
“public record” until the commission
choose to make it so by issuing a press
statement about it. While District courts
in New York and elsewhere have made
similar rulings, this is the first time a Fed-
eral appeals court has issued such an
opinion. The appeals court covers, New
York, Connecticut, and Vermont. (The
New York Times)

FBI Bans Bias Against Gays

San Francisco, CA - In settlement of a
suit filed by a former agent of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, the FBI has
agreed to ban discrimination against les-
bian and gay employees and applicants.
The resolution of the class action suit by
Frank Buttino, who said he was dismissed
from his job because he is gay, came a
week after Attorney General Janet Reno
ordered the FBI and other Justice De-
partment Agencies to add sexual orienta-
tion to the list of unacceptable forms of
employment bias - race, color, national
origin, sex, or disability.

The settlement also says the FBI will re-
consider the application of Dana Tillson,
a lesbian who got high marks in her ap-
plication until the FBI discovered her sex-
ual orientation in 1987. The FBI, which

March 1994

denounced Mr. Buttino as a liar and se-
curity risk throughout the case, also
agreed to issue a statement praising his
record as an agent. The new guidelines,
drafted to carry out Reno’s non-
discrimination statement say an ap-
plicant‘s sexual conduct may be con-
sidered if it raises a question about
character, judgement candor or discretion
or makes the applicant susceptible to co-
ercion. In such cases “heterosexual and
homosexual conduct will be equally con-
sidered.” (The New York Times)

Blue Cross Expands Coverage

Boston, MA — In an unusual move for a
health insurance company, Blue Cross
and Blue Shield of Massachusetts will
expand its employee medical benefits on
January 1st to include unmarried couples
and their dependent children. A Blue
Cross spokesperson said that the expan-
sion demonstrates that the company is
“committed to supporting the needs of a
diverse work force.” Past experience
with companies offering domestic part-
ner coverage had demonstrated that “this
benefit was not administratively complex
or costly.” At least one other Blue Cross
plan, in Vermont, will offer similar ben-
efits starting in 1994. (The New York Na-
tive)

Note: See next month's OITM for the filll
story on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of
Vermont V .

 

David W. Curtis
ATTORNEY AT LAW

HOFF, CURTIS, PACHT, CASSIDY & FRAME, P.C.

100 Main Street
P.O. Box 247
Burlington, VT 05402-0247

802-864-4531

MICHAEL GIGANT E, PH.D.

Psychosynthesis
Counseling & Therapy

(802) 254 -8032 15 Myrtle St., Brattleboro, VT 05301

04/94

BLACKWOOD

AN D
KRAYNAK

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

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