Read the complaint: first-ever EEOC ND lawsuit over harassment of gay worker filed against oil field services firm, Rocky Mountain Casing Co.

 Also: Gay life in the small towns and man camps of North Dakota's oil boom

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Above: life can be grim for LGBT oil workers
in sparsely populated North Dakota

The complaint was filed over the outrageous treatment of Michael Allyn, a driver for Rocky Mountain Casing Co., the main office of which did not provide anyone willing to comment on the lawsuit to the Williston Herald:

     Multiple allegations about harassment by other employees and a supervisor are made in the suit, including claims that another employee attempted to sexually assault Allyn, that Allyn was called homophobic slurs by other employees, that he was given pornographic magazines, that his supervisor made offensive jokes about gay people and that his supervisor gave him a hat with the Spanish slang word for homosexual on it.
     "Employers must realize that harassing someone because of his or her perceived sexual orientation violates the law just as does other types of harassment based on sex, or harassment based on race, or harassment based on religion," Julianne Bowman, director for EEOC's Chicago District Office said in a news release. "This kind of abuse is unacceptable and illegal."
     The EEOC attempted to reach an agreement with the company before filing a lawsuit, according to court records, but was unable to do so.

Courtesy of Equality Case Files

Hat Tip: LGBTQ Nation