"With one touch, I can feel that something is wrong with your health," he told her.

The nurse was sold and promised Sydor the job; she would call soon with his starting date. But her call was long in coming, and, when Sydor followed up, she had bad news: The center was not going to hire him. They had found a more qualified candidate.

But, as a groundbreaking but largely unnoticed court ruling would later conclude, Sydor failed to get that job not because he lacks certain skills, but because he is gay.

Sydor, the only person in the Czech Republic to win an anti-discrimination lawsuit based on sexual orientation, is back in the news as the country's new governing coalition begins setting its legislative agenda. Only a few European countries, such as the Czech Republic and Latvia, still lack a comprehensive anti-discrimination law.

As some call for a renewed push to pass such legislation, the question remains whether Sydor's case will be seen as a precedent.

His partner, Jiří Pavlečka, hopes so.

"We definitely need this law," he said. "I consider this law an essential part of our legal system."

'Patient's rights'

Last October, a regional court in Ostrava ordered the center to send Sydor a written apology and 70,000 Kč ($3,250).

The Beskydy Rehabilitation Center is having difficulty keeping its story straight. In a press release sent to The Prague Post, the center denied that Sydor's sexual orientation was a factor. In the same release, Milan Bajgar, the center's director, said through a spokesman that a gay employee is a bad fit for the center.

It was Bajgar's forthrightness that led Sydor to press charges.

"You can't imagine what I heard from him," said Sydor. "He recommended that I open my own place, with a sign on my door saying that I'm gay. Then I would see how many customers I got."

Bajgar said the case of Sydor pits the rights of employees against the rights of patients — as in, patients have the right not to be touched by a gay man.

"We've received many phone calls and letters from our patients saying we did the right thing and they support us," said Tomáš Želazko, spokesman for the center. "We have nothing against gays, but we don't think a person like that can work as a masseur in our center. We have to respect the wishes of our patients."

Shifting the moral weight for their decision on to customers is a common practice for companies that engage in discrimination, said Džamila Stehlíková, the Green Party minister who will be responsible for minority issues and human rights in the newly approved coalition government.

"Employers are afraid of the opinion of their customers," she said. "It is very difficult to behave in the right way."

"But everyone understands that it is discrimination," she added.

A needed law

Sydor's victory is unprecedented, but it remains to be seen how much influence the case has had, since the Czech legal system is not precedent-based.

"We cannot presume whether this is going to change the position of judges," said Tereza Kodíčková, spokeswoman for the Czech Gay and Lesbian League. "Certainly, it is a step forward."

What could set a precedent would be the passing of a long-due comprehensive anti-discrimination bill, Stehlíková said. Passing such legislation is a requirement of the Czech Republic's membership in the European Union.

In 2004, the Chamber of Deputies made a push to pass a bill, but the Senate vetoed it, partially over concerns about language that would provide affirmative action for the education and employment of Roma, or Gypsies.

The Justice Ministry will now begin work on a new bill, starting from the 2004 draft. Stehlíková expects that it will retain its controversial "positive discrimination" provisions.

Delays in passing the anti-discrimination bill leave the country open to possible sanctions, said Anna Čurdová, a Social Democratic deputy on Parliament's European committee.

"The European Commission might file a complaint at the European Court of Justice," she said. "And the fine could amount to millions of crowns."

Kodíčková, for one, is glad for the pressure possible fines could place on the country.

"Gays and lesbians don't take discrimination cases to court because they don't come out at work," she said. "They're afraid."

Stehlíková hopes that passing a new anti-discrimination bill will work from above, improving the public's attitude toward homosexuals.

"The moment may be right to improve the atmosphere," she said.

Hela Balínová and Naďa Černá contributed to this report.