POINT MUGU : Gay Employee Back at Work for Navy

An openly gay civilian employee at the Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station has returned to work, ending eight months of unpaid leave he took in response to alleged harassment and physical threats.

Thomas A. Swann, 35, accepted an agreement to return to the base reached last week by his American Civil Liberties Union lawyers and the Navy.

A 12-year base employee and a former Marine Corps sergeant, Swann voluntarily left his position as a program analyst in the Strike Systems Department after allegedly being harassed because of his sexual orientation and because of his support for lifting the ban against homosexuals in the military.

“I salute the Navy for accommodating my request to find a safe work environment,” said Swann, a Port Hueneme resident.

“I’m very happy to be back.”

Swann’s will be a program analyst in the base comptroller’s office. He will retain his civil service rank and will earn between $35,300 and $46,200 annually.

Navy spokesman Alan Alpers said Swann’s return Monday was brought about under his rights guaranteed by the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The act guarantees that employers must provide “reasonable accommodations” to employees suffering from certain physical or mental disabilities. Swann’s doctors diagnosed him as suffering from a stress disorder brought on by the alleged harassment.

“We’re happy that he is back to work,” Alpers said. “It’s encouraging that he has agreed that this new work environment meets his needs.”

Still to be negotiated, however, are issues of back pay, restoration of leave time, workers’ compensation payments and medical and legal fees, said ACLU lawyer Alan Friel.