Senior Lionhead Designer Suing Microsoft
Man asked to sign agreement on harassment without agreeing.
Picture courtesy of Jamie Durrant.
In his own words, Jamie Durrant "a 37 year old geek working as a Senior Graphic Designer for Lionhead (Fable) Studios". He is also gay. This latter element of his character has - according to The Daily Telegraph - lead to him being nicknamed "Fag Boy Jim" by some co-workers.
This, as well as various homophobic emails posted around the office, lead to Durrant taking seven months off from his £50,000-a-year job suffering from depression. This was after he had complained to Lionhead's Human Resources department but had agreed not to escalate any proceedings because he did not want to create an "uneasy atmosphere". HR agreed in turn to send a general email to all staff advising on "how to behave responsibly in a diverse office". The email was never sent. He then learned that Microsoft had not formal policies in place regarding sexual orientation harassment".
At this point there are possibly rumblings that Mr Durrant should 'harden up' or 'take it as a joke'. However, following the lack of action, Microsoft then asked him to sign a document stating that everything was fine; that he was happy with how his complaint was being dealt with, and that he would not raise a formal grievance. He was also offered 'counselling'.
This has culminated in the senior designer of more than a decade's time served, taking Lionhead owner - Microsoft - to court with a demand for £45,000 compensation for lost earnings and 'hurt feelings'.
Microsoft, at this point, is "unable to comment on pending litigation." We also contacted Mr Durrant for his comment on the case. He responded, "I've been advised to not talk about it at this time. Sorry, hope you understand."
We will keep an eye on the case.
This, as well as various homophobic emails posted around the office, lead to Durrant taking seven months off from his £50,000-a-year job suffering from depression. This was after he had complained to Lionhead's Human Resources department but had agreed not to escalate any proceedings because he did not want to create an "uneasy atmosphere". HR agreed in turn to send a general email to all staff advising on "how to behave responsibly in a diverse office". The email was never sent. He then learned that Microsoft had not formal policies in place regarding sexual orientation harassment".
At this point there are possibly rumblings that Mr Durrant should 'harden up' or 'take it as a joke'. However, following the lack of action, Microsoft then asked him to sign a document stating that everything was fine; that he was happy with how his complaint was being dealt with, and that he would not raise a formal grievance. He was also offered 'counselling'.
This has culminated in the senior designer of more than a decade's time served, taking Lionhead owner - Microsoft - to court with a demand for £45,000 compensation for lost earnings and 'hurt feelings'.
Microsoft, at this point, is "unable to comment on pending litigation." We also contacted Mr Durrant for his comment on the case. He responded, "I've been advised to not talk about it at this time. Sorry, hope you understand."
We will keep an eye on the case.
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Comments
Daz 24 Mar 2009 14:51
1/6
I hope he wins MS should be ashamed of themselves, especially in this day and age
Our Nige... 24 Mar 2009 19:21
2/6
I guess it depends on how atonomously Lionhead has been running since MS aquired it. I worked for MS corporate... and sexual harrassment was not tolerated, everyone knew it, and everyone knew they would be owned by HR if they crossed the line.
Accusing Microsoft of not having HR policies is like accusing Tesco of not selling cheap beans.
If he can prove it though, he should be asking more than 45k... and he'll probably have no shortage of solicitors willing to have a punt now he's gone public.
Accusing Microsoft of not having HR policies is like accusing Tesco of not selling cheap beans.
If he can prove it though, he should be asking more than 45k... and he'll probably have no shortage of solicitors willing to have a punt now he's gone public.
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Ares Bandit 24 Mar 2009 21:43
3/6
Well, he does look like a bender, doesn't it?
PreciousRoi 25 Mar 2009 13:45
4/6
I'm not sure why MS corporate would be to blame...sounds like this behavior was coming out of his own local office (Lionhead), as far as "not having any policies in place"...I don't see that as being a bad thing in and of itself, in fact, I cringe every time I hear the "p" word, as its usually used to circumvent or ignore common sense, and or screw someone over. Workplace sexual harassment should be dealt with, period, having a "policy" in place merely attempts to absolve those in charge of dealing with it from any sort of responsibility, by removing discretion and judgement from the equation. As long as the "policy" is followed, all the right forms are filled out, counseling is offered, classes and training are scheduled, they did everything they could (besides confronting the actual specific problem)
That being said, "Fag Boy Jim" probably should have shown more spine from the get-go, instead of allowing the problem to escalate to the point where a lawsuit (and a good cry) was necessary. "Not wanting to create an uncomfortable atmosphere" sounds like ballocks to me, it was already an uncomfortable atmosphere from his perspective, and it seems like he failed to take advantage of opportunities which were offered to resolve or at least address the issue earlier and more aggressively without involving the courts or MS corporate.
Lawsuits like this might even encourage even more covert discrimination against gays, as if I don't have any working for me I won't have this problem will I? Far easier (and less expensive with questionable effectiveness) than attempting to modify human nature though "training". With the current state of the economy, I'd wager there are few companies with money to spare for either lawsuits or "sensetivity training"
That being said, "Fag Boy Jim" probably should have shown more spine from the get-go, instead of allowing the problem to escalate to the point where a lawsuit (and a good cry) was necessary. "Not wanting to create an uncomfortable atmosphere" sounds like ballocks to me, it was already an uncomfortable atmosphere from his perspective, and it seems like he failed to take advantage of opportunities which were offered to resolve or at least address the issue earlier and more aggressively without involving the courts or MS corporate.
Lawsuits like this might even encourage even more covert discrimination against gays, as if I don't have any working for me I won't have this problem will I? Far easier (and less expensive with questionable effectiveness) than attempting to modify human nature though "training". With the current state of the economy, I'd wager there are few companies with money to spare for either lawsuits or "sensetivity training"
SuperSaiyan4 26 Mar 2009 09:04
5/6
It is now known that Microsoft is homophoebic especially since an Employee of Microsoft stated this couple with banning those on Xbox Live that announce their sexuality. Microsoft even said that they will ban those that announce as such.
Now we have this, it proves to all that Microsoft are homophoebic and I think this will spur even more hatred towards the company on a high scale.
I think the Lionhead employee should not only just sue for more money but use the case of Xbox Live gamers that are gay gamers as ammo towards the company due to them being banned.
Now we have this, it proves to all that Microsoft are homophoebic and I think this will spur even more hatred towards the company on a high scale.
I think the Lionhead employee should not only just sue for more money but use the case of Xbox Live gamers that are gay gamers as ammo towards the company due to them being banned.
PreciousRoi 26 Mar 2009 12:51
6/6
Dude, seriously, STFU.
MS isn't banning gamers because of their professed sexuality you microencephalic twit. MS is forcing anyone with any gamertag which references homosexuality to change it, not because they hate or fear gays, but because they're tired of getting complaints about them and due to the potential for hate speech. For example, if someone changed their gamertag to "SS4 Is A Big Fag" how can MS tell the difference between someone named SS4 who is proudly declaring their enormous capacity for homoeroticism and someone else making a decidedly offensive comment about someone else. (offensive to both the individual and gays as a whole) MS doesn't have people watching these gamertags, they have computers (as mentioned earlier people couldn't accurately determine the truth of the matter anyway), so any words relating to homosexuality go into the bin. In the end completely avoiding the issue by making people change questionable tags was the most easily implemented solution, it has nothing to do with homophobia, you big drama queen.
I have a friend (XBL Friend) who keeps going around and around with MS forcing him to change his gamertag, which always contains some variation on "_____ShakenFetus", like IwasA, or BeA, or something else along those lines, he keeps getting someone whinging to MS, and has to change it. There is no such thing as free speech on XBL all it takes is a few complaints and yer buggered...deal with it.
MS isn't banning gamers because of their professed sexuality you microencephalic twit. MS is forcing anyone with any gamertag which references homosexuality to change it, not because they hate or fear gays, but because they're tired of getting complaints about them and due to the potential for hate speech. For example, if someone changed their gamertag to "SS4 Is A Big Fag" how can MS tell the difference between someone named SS4 who is proudly declaring their enormous capacity for homoeroticism and someone else making a decidedly offensive comment about someone else. (offensive to both the individual and gays as a whole) MS doesn't have people watching these gamertags, they have computers (as mentioned earlier people couldn't accurately determine the truth of the matter anyway), so any words relating to homosexuality go into the bin. In the end completely avoiding the issue by making people change questionable tags was the most easily implemented solution, it has nothing to do with homophobia, you big drama queen.
I have a friend (XBL Friend) who keeps going around and around with MS forcing him to change his gamertag, which always contains some variation on "_____ShakenFetus", like IwasA, or BeA, or something else along those lines, he keeps getting someone whinging to MS, and has to change it. There is no such thing as free speech on XBL all it takes is a few complaints and yer buggered...deal with it.
