OSC Facilitates Settlement for Federal LGBT Employee in Discrimination Case

May 12, 2015

OSC facilitated a settlement agreement by a VA psychiatrist with a sexual orientation discrimination complaint against managers at the facility where she previously worked.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) recently facilitated a settlement agreement by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) psychiatrist with a sexual orientation discrimination complaint against managers at the facility where she previously worked.

The psychiatrist, Dr. Patricia Kinne, was threatened with removal after patients complained that she had disclosed she was a lesbian or referred to her wife. The patients cited her sexual orientation as a basis for discontinuing their treatment with her. VA management at the Louisville VA Medical Center (VAMC) in Kentucky stated that Dr. Kinne’s disclosure of "personal information" was harmful to the doctor-patient relationship and warned she might be terminated if she did not significantly improve.

OSC investigated and found that while there were several hundred change-of-provider requests from patients against psychiatrists during the relevant time period, only two requests related to Dr. Kinne’s sexual orientation were treated as potential corrective or disciplinary issues. In their OSC interviews, VA management officials were unable to distinguish their treatment of Dr. Kinne’s conduct from others who had received complaints, and provided inconsistent reasoning to support their actions. Dr. Kinne is a well-regarded psychiatrist with no other reported performance or conduct issues, and was complimented by the VA in 2013 for having relatively few patient complaints.

In addition to providing full relief to Dr. Kinne, the VA agreed to provide training to managers and human resources staff at the Louisville VAMC and to notify staff that they are not required to conceal their sexual orientation.

“These protections exist to ensure we have a federal workforce based on merit and free of discrimination. Enforcement of these protections ensures that the federal government is welcoming to LGBT employees,” said Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner. “The VA deserves credit for taking positive steps to address the concerns raised by this case. All agencies should be mindful that federal managers cannot create arbitrary distinctions that lead to discriminatory treatment of their employees.”