Another openly gay employee has been fired from the ARTE' Hotel in Brentwood/Nashville and claims his sexuality was the main reason for his termination.
Former Asst. General Manager Leonard Studdard's employment was terminated by hotel owner Tarun Surti via email on Thursday, Jan. 8.
Stoddard's termination follows that of David Hill who was fired last week from the hotel. Stoddard and Hill claim that they were fired because of Surti's anti-homosexual views. But, Surti maintains that both men were fired for other reasons.
Surti said in an email to Stoddard that he was fired because he lied to the media about Hill's termination.
"I am here in the office and shocked to hear what you had said to the media," Surti wrote in the email to Stoddard. "If it is true that you told media that David was fired because he is gay, you obviously told them a lie. Such behavior is subject to immediate termination and I would like you to restrain from coming to the hotel."
Surti previously told O&AN that Hill was fired because the company was 'scaling down' its workforce in order to survive in the troubled economy. The ex-employees claim that they were fired after Surti received a letter from a former employee which outted the hotel's gay staff.
Stoddard and Hill have scheduled a picket outside the hotel on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 9 a.m. at 760 Old Hickory Blvd. in Brentwood.
"It's all about getting the information about these events out there to the public," Stoddard said. "We'll stay there until we feel we've been effective."
