Phoenix Sexual Harassment Case Settlement Prompts Call For Investigation

The settlement of a contentious sexual harassment lawsuit in the Phoenix Fire Department has prompted one city councilman to demand an investigation.

Councilman Sal DiCiccio has requested that the Phoenix Department of Public Safety investigate the allegations of firefighter Julie Simpson, whose 2011 Federal sexual harassment lawsuit has been settled… we think… Then again maybe not.

ABC15.com quoted DiCiccio as saying “What shocks me the most is how long this type of behavior was allowed to go on, and how nothing was done to stop it. No one was punished and she was moved because of the claims. You don’t move the victim, you protect them.”

The allegations of harassment include placing Simpson’s uniforms in a freezer, feeding her a meal that included a cooked sponge, calling her an assortment of vulgar names, and the following statements:

• “it was nice not having a girl in the station”;
• “we want a guy on the truck, so would you leave”:
• “men are more mechanical, and are therefore better drivers than women”;
• “he’s a guy, he can figure it out”;
• “you can’t do the job, your just too small and you’re a female”;
• “guys don’t want girls in the station because of women like you”;
• “you’re the kind of woman who should be a secretary or nurse, not a fire fighter”;
• “you’re clothes are too tight, they [i.e., Plaintiff’s male counterparts in the Fire Department] will just look at you as someone to [explicative]…”;
• “you’re too small and you’re a female, you should be off the truck and working as a secretary”;
• “you talk too much, guys don’t like to hear girls talk.”

Various news sources have reported that the case has been settled with the city agreeing to pay Simpson $70,000. While court documents indicate the case has been dismissed, the Phoenix City Council remarkably tabled discussion on the settlement last Wednesday, and will take the matter up again on  October 31, 2012.

Here is a copy of the complaint: Simpson v Phoenix

Here is a copy of the dismissal order: Dismissal Order