DECISION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
This case is before the Board of Directors (“Board”) pursuant to a Petition for Review filed by the Office of the Architect of the Capitol (“AOC” or “Appellant”) to the Decision and Order of Hearing Officer Paul Coran which found that AOC employee, Bren Lowery (“Lowery” or “Appellee”) was subjected to a hostile work environment based on racial discrimination and to the Hearing Officer’s Supplemental Decision and Order awarding $50,000.00 for compensatory, non-pecuniary damages.
BACKGROUND
Bren Lowery, an African-American Visitor Assistant Supervisor, started working for the Capitol Guide Service in September 2008. On November 13, 2008, the Capitol Guide Service was transferred to the Office of the AOC to operate within the Capitol Visitor Center (“CVC”), which opened to the public on November 23, 2008.
In or around November or December of 2008, various employees witnessed Mark Turnbull (“Turnbull”), another Visitor Assistant Supervisor ridiculing and mocking Appellee’s speech and writing at a nearby bar during “happy hour.” Around the same time, at another local bar, Vernon Alston (“Alston”) an African-American tour guide with the CVC, witnessed Turnbull distribute an e-mail written by Appellee to a number of employees, refer to him as ignorant and uneducated, and disparage his writing. The other employees laughed and played a bingo-type game they called “Brengo.” The object of the game was to accumulate words mispronounced by Appellee which they termed “Brenisms.” When Alston stated to Turnbull that Lowery could not help the way he speaks, Turnbull responded: “You are African-American, you’re black but you don’t sound like that when you talk over the radio.” Turnbull also told Alston that Appellee – 2 – sounded “ethnic.” Alston witnessed similar behavior at three or four additional happy hours and stopped going because it upset him. Alston informed Appellee of these events.
