Library of Congress Allegedly Fires Gay Employee for Facebook 'Like'

Peter TerVeer is claiming that he was fired for "liking" a Facebook page for same-sex parents, which led to his boss finding out he is gay, MSNBCreported.

TerVeer, a former management analyst at the Library of Congress, says that after his manager John Mech found out he 'liked' the "Two Dads" page on Facebook (which helps "promote the gay and lesbian community") he allegedly started to receive negative performance reviews and he was subjected to Mech's harassment about his sexual orientation.

TerVeer also claimed that he started to receive "religiously motivated harassment and decimation" emails from his boss. Mech also asked him to join a meeting for the purposes of "educating him on hell and that it awaited him for being a homosexual."

A local ABC affiliate reported that one email from June 2009 said: "Putting you closer to God is my effort to encourage you to save your worldly behinds!" And another from Mech said: "Jesus prohibited sexual immorality including homosexuality, adultery and pre-marital sex."

The 30-year-old was instructed by his therapist to take a medical leave because of stress, TerVeer's attorney Thomas Simeone said.

TerVeer was fired last week after he missed 37 consecutive days of work. But Roll Call pointed out that the Library of Congress' officials signed off on his request to take time off.

Although a spokeswoman for the Library of Congress said she could not comment on the issue the Library did release a statement.

"Library of Congress employees, like all employees in the federal government, have protection against workplace discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Library employees who believe they have been subjected to discrimination may avail themselves of an internal administrative process to address their equal employment opportunity complaints."

TerVeer soon filed a claim with the Library of Congress' Equal Employment Opportunity Complaints Office. The office will rule on this case by the middle of May. Depending on the outcome, TerVeer can then take his case to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

"I don't want this to happen to anyone else," TerVeer told ABC. "I want my career, I want my career back."