Xbox designer sues Microsoft for harassment

Photo by TIM STEWART NEWS

Big corporation plus charges of homophobic discrimination?  Sounds like a winning combination for the media.  Prepare for another long and sordid tale.

Jamie Durrant, a 38-year-old Xbox game designer, is suing Microsoft for £45,000 ($66,276) over "hurt feelings" due to unpleasant nicknames he was called by in the workplace. 

Durrant is claiming that insensitive co-workers called him insensitive names like "Fag Boy Jim" and circulated hurtful messages about him, with headings like "I'm Jim and I'm Gay," "Me and My Favorite Men," and "Ladies Are Bad."  The nickname previously mentioned was apparently posted in the office's shared kitchen.

The plaintiff has also said that the firm didn't have policies for dealing with such complaints about homophobic harassment.  He'd been employed by Lionhead Studios for 11 years, and the company was bought out by Microsoft two years ago.  Durrant states the harassment began last January.

"I have never hidden my sexuality from the office and I felt this could be targeted at myself," he proclaimed to the media.  "This was not the first time there was homophobic content in the office."

When Durrant approached his superiors, they agreed to send out an email reminding the staff of "how to behave responsibly in a diverse office."  However, months went by and no action was taken, so he went back to human resources, asking why they hadn't addressed the issue yet.  The HR chiefs then told him that they'd have to change their policies before they could send out an email.

Durrant stated, "I was very surprised that Microsoft did not have any policies relating to this sexual orientation harassment."

Sounds like a real headache for the guy, right?  Doesn't stop there.  Durrant was then (allegedly) asked to sign a document agreeing not to raise any formal complaints and was satisfied with how the situation was being handled.  Of course he refused, but an agreement was made in which Microsoft would post their anti-discrimination policy on the firm's intranet where staff could see it.

Durrant said the firm offered him counselling, but felt that the company was making him seem like the problem, not the "homophobic aspect."  In August 2008, he was signed off for depression and is living on half pay.

"I feel I should be compensated for the stress that this whole complaint procedure has placed on me, the amount of effort and time I have put into trying to get this resolved and acknowledgment that they have done nothing whilst the homophobic harassment continued, making my workplace uncomfortable and unpleasant," he concluded.

Needless to say, Microsoft is denying most of Durrant's claims.  The case is due for trial later this year.