A hair salon owner in Alabama is now considering relocating to another part of the country after experiencing what he believes is blatant homophobia.

Jason Johnson works as a hairdresser in Winfield. He saw a job advert for a Cosmetology Instructor at Lamar County School of Technology in Vernon, Alabama.

He says he applied for and was offered the job, and was due to commence work on Friday 12 August. He turned down other work in preparation for the new role.

However, the night before he was due to start, he says he received a phone call from a member of the school board informing him that it was rescinding the offer.

According to Johnson, the reason was because they objected to his ‘lifestyle’. The school told him that it would be re-advertising the position.

In a statement to GSN, Johnson said, ‘I am gay but I was the only applicant with the credentials for the job.’

Johnson told abc3340.com, ‘I wasn’t ashamed of who I was but anybody who knows me, knows I never put my business out there.

‘When I applied for the job, nowhere did it ask: are you gay, straight, or bi?’

Johnson’s attorney, Daniel Borman, alleges that a member of the school board took a photo of Johnson from his Facebook page to the board meeting where his recruitment would be given final approval.

‘Based on that picture, they said that’s not the type of person we want to hire. And based on that meaning someone gay, he was not hired,’ Borman told abc3340. He said Johnson deserves a full explanation from the board.

In a frustrated Facebook posting about the incident, Johnson said, ‘I think I am gonna quit trying here in the south and just move.’

GSN has contacted the Lamar County School Board for comment but has not had any response.

LGBT people have no specific workplace discrimination protections in Alabama – one of the reasons why advocates such as Human Rights Campaign are calling for the introduction of a federal Equality Act.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) last year ruled that sexual orientation was a protected class in accordance with Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and has duly began to advise gay workers in workplace discrimination cases.