DENVER — The Colorado State Patrol must pay more than $768,000 to a former patrol captain who was denied re-employment after the agency learned he was gay.
State Senior Administrative Law Judge Mary McClatchey ruled Friday that former captain Brett Williams suffered and will continue to suffer from the patrol’s actions, reported The Denver Post. The amount includes back pay with interest, and lost forward pay — totaling $768,268.
The decision is the outcome in a case in which Williams was allegedly denied re-employment after his superiors learned that he is gay.
Williams, who departed from the State Patrol in early 2010 to pursue a career as a helicopter pilot, had returned and asked for his job back.
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A polygraph test was required as part of Williams’ reinstatement, during which a State Patrol sergeant asked a question that compelled Williams to reveal he is gay — a violation of CSP rules prohibiting polygraph questions related to sexual orientation.
McClatchey concluded patrol leaders used the test to deny Williams’ reinstatement, contrary to law-enforcement hiring standards.
