E-Alerts: Sexual Orientation Bias: $11 Million Verdict for Gay Manager of Upscale Hotel

A jury in Manhattan, New York, has awarded $11.2 million to the former general manager of Leona Helmsley’s luxury Park Lane Hotel. The worker claimed he was fired because his is gay. Former manager Charles Bell charged that Helmsley embarked on a campaign of harassment against him—and ultimately discharged him after just four months on the job—after she discovered his sexual orientation. Witnesses testified that Helmsley often used anti-gay epithets towards hotel staff. Helmsley, who had argued to the jury that Bell was an incompetent manager, plans to appeal the verdict.