CHICAGO, March 26 (UPI) -- A Chicago federal court jury has ruled against a male state of Illinois employee who says he was fired for refusing the advances of his silk pajama-clad boss.
The ruling came in a sexual harassment suit filed by Carlos Estes, 37, who lost his job with the Illinois Department of Human Services for misusing state vehicles, The Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.
Estes contended in his lawsuit that the real reason he was dismissed from his $70,000-a-year post was refusing the advances of his boss Teyonda Wertz, 22 years his senior, during a trip in 2003.
Estes said the two shared a hotel room and Wertz ordered him to strip and get into bed with her.
"On balance, we didn't think that whatever happened in that hotel room caused him to lose his job," juror Charles Kitchen told The Chicago Sun-Times.
Wertz, a campaign volunteer for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, was reprimanded for using Estes to run personal errands but did not loose her job.
