An employee at a wastewater treatment plant in suburban Buffalo has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that he was discriminated against because he is gay.
Timothy Burns, who has worked full time at Grand Island’s wastewater treatment plant since 2011, claims the harassment and discriminatory treatment began in 2020, according to Buffalo CBS affiliate WIVB.
After learning of Burns’ sexual orientation, one of his co-workers “abruptly ceased communicating with [him], deliberately avoided him in the workplace, refused to enter shared spaces while Plaintiff was present, and isolated Plaintiff in a work environment where communication and coordination were essential to safe plant operations,” the lawsuit claims.
The co-worker’s negative reaction was so noticeable that other employees asked Burns about it. After Burns married his husband in August 2021, another employee mentioned the marriage at work, and the co-worker allegedly responded by making vomiting noises.
The lawsuit also claims that a separate co-worker disparaged Burns with “overtly homophobic slurs” and attacks on his competence.
That same co-worker allegedly filed a false report with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) spill line, claiming that Burns had discharged sludge into a storm sewer leading to a nearby creek and wildlife preserve. The DEC investigated and found that a small sludge spill had remained on site, never entered the stormwater system, and posed no environmental threat.
Despite the DEC’s findings, the spill accusation caused Burns “reputational harm, regulatory scrutiny, and risk to his professional license,” the lawsuit claims. The lawsuit further alleges that the co-worker was allowed to resign in March 2025 rather than be fired despite his poor job performance.
Meanwhile, Burns claims the town of Grand Island passed him over for advancement despite his licensing qualifications while promoting less-qualified employees.
Burns, who has a disability, claims his physical symptoms, including severe nosebleeds, worsened because of the work environment and the stress he endured. In September 2024, he began regularly using a disability parking placard at work, which allegedly led to further harassment, retaliation, and discrimination.
In addition to the town of Grand Island, Burns’ lawsuit names his supervisor, Town Engineer Robert Westfall; Town Supervisor Peter Marston; and Town Councilmember Thomas Digati as defendants in both their individual and official capacities.
Burns has requested a jury trial and seeks a declaration that the defendants violated his rights as both a gay man and a disabled person under federal and state law. He is also seeking compensatory and emotional distress damages, back pay, front pay, attorneys’ fees, and any other relief the court deems appropriate.
"At my core, I'll always be the kid from the trailer park," says U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, who is running for one of Minnesota's two U.S. Senate seats. "I have a theory that you don't move very far from where you begin, even if you, outwardly, get really lucky and do. So I've always been someone who, as a member of Congress, has been fighting for economic opportunity and good jobs and lowering costs for people."
Craig, whose father was largely absent during her childhood, was raised along with her younger brother and sister by her mother and grandmother in Arkansas. The family, who lived in a mobile home, moved to several small towns throughout the state before finally settling near Jonesboro, a city located about 60 miles from Memphis, Tennessee, when Craig was in seventh grade.
Dolly Parton, the beloved singer-songwriter, actress, and longtime LGBTQ ally, has died at age 80.
Parton's nephew, Brian Seaver, announced her death in a video posted to her Instagram account.
"My name is Brian Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I'm representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next," Seaver said in the video.
"This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality. As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven't truly felt it 'til now," Seaver continued.
Last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an anti-human trafficking bill into law that contains provisions repealing parts of an existing state law that allowed people with HIV to be charged with enhanced criminal penalties if they engaged in prostitution and did not disclose their status to clients.
Previously, people living with HIV could face harsher penalties than people without HIV for engaging in the same illicit activity. For example, a person without HIV who was charged with prostitution would face only a misdemeanor, while a person with HIV who engaged in the same behavior could be charged with a felony.
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