Taxi company ordered to pay after driver ejects gay couple

Philadelphia officials have ordered a taxi company to pay a former passenger who says he was kicked out of a cab after he kissed his male partner.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Thursday the city Commission on Human Relations has ordered PHL Taxi to pay Mark Seaman $500. The ruling comes eight years after Seaman kissed his partner on the top of the head as they left Philadelphia International Airport.

Seaman says their cab driver ordered them to get out after the kiss and left them at a nearby taxi stand. He filed a discrimination complaint shortly afterward.

In their ruling, the commission says taxi dispatch companies are responsible for educating their drivers on the city’s fair practices ordinance.

A phone call to PHL Taxi rang unanswered Friday morning.

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Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.inquirer.com