D.C. lawsuit claims AARP Services illegally fired gay man
A gay former manager for the D.C.-based AARP Services, Inc., an arm of the AARP that interacts with businesses supportive of the nation’s seniors, filed a little-noticed lawsuit in May 2018 charging AARP Services with firing him because he’s gay and married to a man.
Richard A. Deus, Jr., who worked for AARP and AARP Services for 11 years and held the title of director of program management at the time of his termination in February 2018, charges in his lawsuit that AARP officials falsely accused him of accepting gifts for travel from businesses affiliated with AARP that violated AARP employee ethics policies.
The lawsuit says AARP Services cited these alleged violations as the reason for its decision to fire him. But, according to a 26-page amended complaint filed by Deus’s attorney in D.C.
Superior Court, Deus sought and received permission from his supervisor and an official with the AARP’s general counsel’s office to take two separate trips, one to New Orleans and the other to New York City, as being work related.
