Syracuse, NY; Mar. 3, 2005 – In a case that could be the first of its kind in New York State, a Utica couple has filed a discrimination lawsuit against a health care center that allegedly refused them service based solely on sexual orientation.
Sign up to receive NewStandard headlines and extras by e-mail weekday mornings!
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit in New York State Supreme Court last Thursday on behalf of Louise Bizzari and Barbara Hackett, who are registered as domestic partners and have been together for 27 years. The lawsuit charges the Charles T. Sitrin Health Care Center with refusing the women access to fitness and rehabilitation programs because they are lesbians, a violation of a 2003 amendment to the New York Human Rights Law known as the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA).
Though the website of the New Hartford-based Sitrin Health Care Center states the facility welcomes all people, regardless of age, race, disability, religious preference and sexual orientation, Bizzari and Hackett recount a different story.
After a misdiagnosis of cancer left the 55-year old Bizzari bedridden and medicated with steroids for nearly a decade, doctors told her that she needed a daily regimen of aquatic therapy to treat her severe osteoarthritis and build up enough upper body strength to sustain bone fusion surgery. Without it, they advised her, she could lose her leg.
Having watched her mother pass away after an amputation, Bizzari became convinced to address her own health problems. She chose Sitrin in part because it accepted Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance, which she received through Hackett’s domestic partner benefits. It was not until she spoke with the center’s director of clinical rehabilitation services, Jackie Warmuth, that Bizzari says she encountered an obstacle to obtaining the care she needed.
Many people might not be aware that discrimination based on sexual orientation is now illegal in New York.
"I truthfully acknowledged I was using domestic partner insurance," recalled Bizzari. "At that point [of the conversation, Warmuth’s] voice became cold, stern, and caustic."
Bizzari said it was then that Warmuth informed her that the center did not accept insurance provided through domestic partnership benefits. Even when Bizzari offered to pay out-of-pocket, though, she says Warmuth was unrelenting, telling Bizzari she could not afford the services without insurance.
In Summer 2004, Bizarri and Hackett did manage to enroll in a $45 per month evening "Wellness Program," giving them access to Sitrin’s pool, having avoided Warmuth in the process of registering.
While Bizzari’s health began to improve, according to the complaint filed by the ACLU, eventually Warmuth discovered that Bizzari and Hackett were using the Sitrin facilities and informed Bizzari that she and her partner were dismissed from the pool.
When Bizzari confronted Warmuth about the order the next day, she recounts, Warmuth referred to Bizzari and Hacket as "faggots" and called the police.
A few days later, Bizzari and Hackett each received letters signed by Warmuth. In their entirety, they read: "This letter follows our telephone conversation of 1/3/05, confirming that Sitrin has dismissed you from the Wellness Program as of 1/3/05."
On Friday, Sitrin released a one-paragraph statement signed by Rosemary Bonacci, Director of Community Relations. "Sitrin has always -- in policy and practice -- upheld the standards of equal opportunity," reads the statement. "Ms. Bizzari was dismissed from our wellness program solely based on her inappropriate conduct in the facility, and her sexual orientation was not a factor in this decision. Sitrin does not discriminate against anyone because of age, race, creed, color, national origin, religion, pregnancy, genetic disposition, carrier status, disability, sex or sexual orientation."
Sharon McGowan, a staff attorney for the ACLU’s Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, said Bizzari and Hacket’s lawsuit is powerful because it sends the message that sexual orientation discrimination is no longer going to be tolerated in New York State.
Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, admission to places of public accommodation and education institutions, publicly assisted housing, private housing accommodations and commercial space, and in relation to credit has only been illegal in New York since 2003, when state lawmakers passed the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act, which had lingered in the legislature for nearly three decades. The ACLU believes this case marks the first time the law has been used in bringing a lawsuit against a private business.
McGowan said the ACLU will likely meet with Sitrin officials soon to discuss a possible settlement including damages and full access to the center’s programs. But their primary concern, McGowan said, is getting Bizzari back into the pool as soon as possible; and the civil rights group is prepared to ask the court for temporary relief to make that happen.
Fifteen other states, including Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, and Wisconsin have non-discrimination laws similar to that of New York; California, Minnesota, and New Mexico include gender identity as well as sexual orientation in their statutes.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
McGowan believes that many people might not be aware that discrimination based on sexual orientation is now illegal. "I hope this lawsuit communicates to LGBT people across the state that sexual orientation discrimination is no longer business as usual," she said. "It also communicates to business owners who haven’t yet figured out that non-discrimination is not only good business practice, but that discrimination is now against the law."
