총 44페이지

Culture Focus
LGBTQ discrimination in the workplace. The Supreme
WasAndrewUnfairlyDismissed?Yes
Court’s support has spurred lawsuits from LGBTQ people
“Andy, your place in
who had been wrongfully fired in the past. There have been
ⓒPhiladelphia
the future of this firm
cases of men being fired for joining a gay softball club or
is no longer secure.
for wearing female clothing at work after changing sex. It
We do not think it is
appeared that LGBTQ people were protected under the law,
fair to keep you here,
but in 2022, the online media outlet Electric reported that
where your future is
Elon Musk, the head of the automobile company Tesla, fired
limited.” This is what
multiple executives working for diversity-related programs,
▲The executives of the law firm who are
an executive says when
including a representative of a company alliance for LGBTQ
suedbyAndrewareinthecourttoargue
theircase.
the firm fires Andrew
rights. Musk believed that LGBTQ organizations ruin civil
for his “bad attitude” and “ability shortage.” When Andrew
society. The fired employees, like Andrew, were competent
complains, they cite his bad attitude again. Does he deserve
enough to be promoted three times, and one was a chief
to be fired? Andrew is competent enough to be in charge of
engineer. Discriminative thinking resulted in their dismissal,
the most important case and has a good attitude that keeps
notjobperformance.
all his clients satisfied. Then, does he deserve to be fired for
Similar unfair dismissals are being repeated in South
not informing his employer of having AIDS? AIDS was how
Korea today, but the fundamental problem is that the issue
executivescametoknowaboutAndrew’shomosexuality,and
is not even discussed. According to a 2021 survey of 1,005
eventually, what they hated was homosexuality itself rather
Koreancitizensovertheageof18byGallopKorea,apolling
thanAIDS.Anexecutivesaysatthetrial,“Ifelt,andstillfeel,
organization,12percentofrespondentsansweredthatfiringa
nothing but the deepest sympathy and compassion for people
coworker for being LGBTQ is appropriate. Considering that
like Maria, who have contracted this terrible disease through
22percenttookthispositionin2001,LGBTQacceptancehas
nofaultoftheirownlikeatransfusion.”Asthisconversation
improved.Butsince2014,thepercentagehasbeenfrozenat12
implies, the firm regards gay men’s AIDS as a self-imposed
percent.Theunfortunaterealityisthatlotsofpeoplestillhave
“fault.”Ultimately,Andrew’sdismissalwasaproductofanti-
no interests in LGBTQ
ⓒIBM
homosexualdiscrimination.
people being unfairly
Unfair dismissal means firing a worker without any
dismissed. Thus, it is
reasonable cause. The issue of unfair dismissal of LGBTQ
important to create a
people came to the forefront in 1968 when the U.S. IT
public discourse that
company,IBM,firedatransgenderemployee.Thevictimtold
encourages individuals
her boss that she was in the process of a sex change, and got
to discuss the issue in
▲IBM looks back upon its discriminatory
firedthesameyear.IBMapologizedtoherin2020,52years
addition to improving
past and is now committed to defending
LGBTQrights.
later.Thatwasbecause,onJune15,2020,theSupremeCourt
thesystem.
of the United States (SCOTUS) declared a ruling banning
Whatifamanisfiredforbeingshort,forhavingachild,forhavingamedicalcondition,forbeingavegan,orforbeinga
sportslover?Theunfairdismissalforbeinghomosexualmeansthatotherpersonalqualitiescouldbeacauseforbeingfired,
too. Considering our own diverse physical features and values, it is clear that there are many different human identities,
and when it comes to being valued as a worker, one’s personal identity should not take precedence over job performance.
However,manypeoplestillapproveofunfairdismissalandfailtoviewitasaproblemduetotheprejudiceagainstLGBTQ
people.TheArgushopesforadaywhenallidentitiescanberespectedequally.
202101330@hufs.ac.kr
13
MAY 2023

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