LOWERY v. BURSE

**Lowery v. Burse: Discrimination at Health Club** This case involved a worker at LaSalle Court Sports & Health Club who faced discrimination based on their sexual orientation. The employee claimed they were treated unfairly through selective enforcement of workplace rules and subjected to a hostile work environment because of who they were. The court ruled in favor of the employee, finding that the health club had indeed discriminated against them. Specifically, the court determined that the club applied a "no socializing" rule unfairly—enforcing it against this employee because of their sexual orientation while not applying the same rule consistently to other workers. The employee was awarded $2,000 in damages, and the employer also had to pay attorney fees and punitive damages. **What this means for workers:** This ruling reinforces that employers cannot selectively enforce workplace policies based on an employee's sexual orientation or other protected characteristics. If your employer has rules that apply to everyone, those rules must be enforced fairly and equally. Workers who face discriminatory treatment—including having policies applied unfairly because of who they are—have legal protections and may be entitled to compensation for the harm they suffered.