CASE STUDY H: JAN Jan worked in an office of a large insurance company. Jan was a lesbian and very open about her sexual orientation, frequently associating with other people in the office who were known or rumoured to be gay or lesbian. At the time, Jan was having a relationship with a woman who worked in the same department. Jan had been a temporary contract employee for some time but had made it clear to company officials that she wanted a full-time job. She was told that, because the company had recently been sold, there was a freeze on hiring and she couldn’t be hired. Jan noticed, though, that full-time staff were being hired in other departments. As a result, she believed she was not hired to a full-time position because of her sexual orientation. While the company employed other lesbian and gay persons, comments made to Jan led her to believe that they were expected to play down their sexual orientation while at work. She was told not to associate with other lesbians and gay men and to be “less obvious” in her dress and in her behaviour. The company president had on occasion referred to Jan as “Mister” and had made sarcastic remarks in front of other employees about her cologne and her style of dress. There were many negative rumours around the office concerning Jan, her partner, and other employees thought to be lesbian or gay. One day, Jan’s supervisor called her into his office and gave her a letter offering her a full-time job. While they were discussing the offer, he told Jan that her partner would have to move to another department as it was the practice of the company not to have people in personal and family relationships working in the same department. At this, Jan became upset and left the office. The next day Jan delivered a letter to her supervisor in which she stated that she accepted the position, but that, since her partner did not wish to move to another department, she could not accept this condition. Instead, she offered to sign an agreement stating that she and her partner would continue to maintain separate residences and not socialize or act preferentially toward each other while at work. If her supervisor was not agreeable to this, Jan offered to resign. Finding these conditions unacceptable, Jan’s supervisor withdrew the job offer and fired her.