E-Harmony.com lawsuits- Separate but Equal?

The online dating business E-harmony has been accused of treating Gays unfairly. In 2005 a man filed suit against E-harmony claimed he was denied access because he was gay. He says there was no option for "man seeking man" or "woman seeking woman" . The courts decision stated that the company's policy was in violation of state discrimination laws.

What was interesting to me is that instead of modifying the existing problem, E-harmony created a separate site for gay's to use. In 2007 Someone sued E-harmony again on the basis that the company's way of dealing with this constitutes an unacceptable "separate but equal" policy. E-harmony is most likely facing damage charges for those who were unable to join there site.

I found this case very interesting and relevant to all of us future Business leaders. As we begin owning or managing our own businesses, it is important for us to consider the importance of separating any strict biases or views we may have from the workplace. It is not our place as business leaders to discriminate who receives our services. We often consider discrimination as race based, but today discrimination can commonly found in businesses relating to gender, sexual orientation, religion, and even social class. E-harmony did not consider the constitutional importance of discrimination in our nations laws and civil rights doctrines, and now has to pay.

Read more:http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/04/eharmony03.html#ixzz1AlqqooDthttp://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/04/eharmony03.html