Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) may soon feel the heterosexual heat from firing a staffer over a VA scandal in Wisconsin. Local news reports indicate that the staffer, who is straight, may sue Baldwin, who is gay, for “sexual discrimination” over the firing.
Marquette Baylor, Baldwin’s ex-deputy state director, isn’t taking the news of being fired quietly. The former chief of Baldwin’s Milwaukee office, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, has lawyered up for a possible wrongful termination suit involving sexual discrimination.
Baylor declined a severance package that would, in effect, muzzle her. By taking the deal, Baylor would be unable to reveal what she knows about troubling reports that hit Baldwin’s desk concerning the Tomah VA Medical Center last August. According to news reports, Baldwin received warnings of high opiate prescriptions rates but did nothing for several months.
Three vets dying eventually got her attention. She ultimately called for a federal investigation.
A source told the Journal Sentinel that Baylor didn’t want to be “hogtied.”
The senator’s office is refusing to answer reporter’s question, including a journalist who dropped by the office. They gave the typical non-response response: “We do not comment on personnel matters.”
Ironically enough, Baldwin tops the list of Capitol Hill offices with sexual orientation discrimination protections. The information isn’t public. So in January, HuffPost contacted every member of Congress to find out which lawmakers have internal guidelines on the matter.
The Mirror sought comment from Baldwin’s Washington press office. When a receptionist asked what this was regarding, I informed the her it was a potential lawsuit by Marquette Baylor. The office phone music came on. The receptionist soon returned, saying she couldn’t get through to anyone in the press shop but that I should write press@baldwin.senate.gov. “So everyone can see it,” she said before wishing me a good day.