Ford headquarters in Dearborn

The Ford headquarters in Dearborn. Ford is being sued by Ypsilanti resident Thomas Banks as he claims he was fired for his religious beliefs against homosexuality.

(File photo)

The Ypsilanti man who filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Ford Motor Company alleging that he was fired for making anti-homosexual comments is now suing the automotive giant, according to a report by The Detroit Free Press.

Thomas Banks also is suing Rapid Global Business Solutions, an engineering and employment service in Troy that contracted Banks to do work for Ford.

Banks is suing for an undisclosed amount of money claiming damages for loss of wages, mental anguish, emotional distress, humiliation, shame and anxiety. Neither Ford nor Rapid Global Business Solutions offered comment on the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed in May after the EEOC declined to pursue the complaint originally filed with its office in January on Banks' behalf by the Liberty Institute. That decision was made in April.

The original complaint alleges that Banks was fired from Ford in August 2014 after he commented on a newsletter that was shared by Ford on behalf of the company's employee resource arm that benefits lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

"For this Ford Motor should be thoroughly ashamed. Endorsing and promoting sodomy is of benefit to no one. This topic is disruptive to the workplace and is an assault on Christians and morality, as well as antithetical to our design and our survival," Banks wrote in the comment. "Immoral sexual conduct should not be a topic for an automotive manufacturer to endorse or promote.

"And yes this is historic but not in a good way. Never in the history of mankind has a culture survived that promotes sodomy. Heterosexual behavior creates life -- homosexual behavior leads to death."

A few days after submitting the comment, Banks was contacted by a human resource representative from Ford who informed Banks he had violated the company's anti-harassment policy. Later that day he was fired by Ford after being with the company for three years.

RGBSI also terminated Banks following the incident, citing a harassment violation in the company's handbook; however, Banks alleges the handbook does not have a clear policy regarding harassment.

Matt Durr is a business reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Email him at mattdurr@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.