The Roncalli High School guidance counselor who was placed on administrative leave in August after her marriage to a woman was discovered has filed a discrimination complaint against the school and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.
In the Jan. 9 complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Shelly Fitzgerald alleges the school and Archdiocese discriminated and retaliated against her because of her “gender, failure to conform to gender stereotypes, association with another woman (i.e., her wife), and sexual orientation,” according to a summary released by her lawyer, David Page, on Monday.
“The Archdiocese of Indianapolis and Roncalli High School have neither discriminated against Shelly Fitzgerald nor created a ‘hostile work environment,'” said Archdiocese of Indianapolis Communications Director Greg Otolski.
EEOC investigations typically take about 10 months. If it finds that the charge was warranted, Fitzgerald will have 90 days to file suit in federal court. Another counselor, Lynn Starkey, filed a similar complaint with the EEOC in November.
Originally published in Southside Times, 2019. Republished here for archival and portfolio purposes.