A former Lehigh County letter carrier claims he was fired by the U.S. Postal Service because he’s gay.

The HIV-positive resident of Coplay filed a lawsuit Friday in federal court. His name is redacted from the lawsuit due to the risk of stigma or retribution. He’s called John Doe in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says he was a letter carrier for 12 years based out of the Postal Road branch of the postal service in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, when he was fired Aug. 19, 2019.

According to the lawsuit, a coworker of the plaintiff relayed several gay slurs used by coworkers to describe him, including “sick f----t.” One co-worker called him “Glinda,” a female witch from The Wizard of Oz. Others complained his shorts were too tight, the lawsuit says.

One supervisor allegedly said, “I f---ing swear to God I’m gonna get his ass fired.”

According to the lawsuit, the mailman was fired for allegedly kicking a coworker, Lisa Williams. The lawsuit says Williams lied about the incident.

The man who filed the lawsuit was charged with harassment in the kicking incident but the charge was dismissed, according to the lawsuit.

Williams was happy to see the mailman fired, saying “I’m so glad they finally got rid of that fruitcake,” according to a coworker who overheard her, the lawsuit says.

It says he was fired due to discrimination from Williams, other coworkers and supervisors.

Postal service spokeswoman Karen Mazurkiewicz said she couldn’t comment on pending litigation. She said the U.S. Postal Service is committed to providing a work environment free of harassment or other inappropriate conduct based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, mental or physical disability.

According to the lawsuit, Williams waited four to six days before reporting the kicking incident to police. It says managers waited 40 days after the kicking incident before conducting a pre-disciplinary interview with the letter carrier and waited 53 days before issuing a “notice of removal.”

“Defendants acceded to Ms. Williams’ discriminatory bias and hate by wrongfully terminating Doe,” the lawsuit says.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit has fallen into a deep depression as a result of losing his job, the lawsuit says. It’s unclear how he’ll pay for his medical care to manage his HIV, the suit says.

He wants his job back and to be paid for the time since he was terminated, the lawsuit says. He also wants compensation for his pain and suffering and embarrassment.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.