Tag Archives: sexual harassment

An Illinois firefighter who claims she was sexually harassed to the point she became disabled, has prevailed in the appeal of the denial of her disability pension because three of the five pension board members participated in the harassment. Sugar Grove Fire Protection District lieutenant Sara Naden claims she was forced off the job in March, 2014

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A firefighter who the town council president called a “sociopath” and threatened to “cut off his balls and feed them to his god-damn dog” is now suiting the town and the council president. David Gorman filed suit against East Greenwich and Council President Sue Cienki for defamation, invasion of privacy/false light, and sexual harassment.

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Last week was a very busy week Fire Law-wise. Besides the five headline stories I covered, there were a seemingly endless stream of additional cases that broke. Let’s take a quick look at several of the more important cases that otherwise would have slipped through the cracks.

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The Salt Lake City Civil Service Commission has overturned the demotion of Fire Marshal Martha Ellis, finding that the city wrongly demoted her in last year. Chief Ellis was demoted from battalion chief to captain for an "apparent lack of engagement with [her] current assignment, a lack of ownership of [her] job responsibilities, an inability or unwillingness to follow instructions ..."

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The City of Petaluma has agreed to settle a sexual harassment suit brought by a female firefighter for $1.25 million. Andrea Waters filed suit in 2014 accusing colleagues and superiors of creating a sexually hostile work environment and retaliating against her when she complained.

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Fairfax County Fire Chief Rich Bowers agreed to an interview today with WUSA9 reporter Peggy Fox to discuss the recent sexual harassment cases that the department is facing.

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In the aftermath of an $800,000 jury verdict against the city of Providence for sexual harassment, WJAR TV10 reporter Katie Davis did an in depth investigative piece on the recent case, comparing it to an earlier case of sexual harassment that occurred 17 years earlier.

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A federal jury took just four hours to award a former Providence Fire Department rescue officer $800,000 in damages for sexual harassment and retaliation. Lori Franchina filed suit in 2012 claiming she had been subjected to numerous instances of harassment, including incidents where co-workers refused to assist her at emergency scenes.

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A Tampa firefighter who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in March, was terminated the following day. Tanja Vidovic was terminated on March 24, one day after she filed suit in federal court accusing the fire department of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

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A federal court jury in Illinois has rejected the claims of an administrative assistant with the Cicero Fire Department that she had been sexually harassed and discriminated against on account of her race and ethnicity.

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An Ohio firefighter who claims she has been subjected to years of harassment and discrimination has filed suit against her department and her fire chief. Amie Morningstar filed suit last week in US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio naming the Circleville Fire & EMS Department, the City of Circleville, and Fire Chief Marc Zingarelli.

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A New Jersey township has agreed to pay $30,000 to a female employee to settle her claims that the fire chief “smacked” her on her “rear end”. Lorie Cutts, an administrative assistant for the Medford Township Fire Department, claimed that Fire Chief Thomas Thorn smacked her on her bottom in front of 2 other firefighters.

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A Facebook post that prompted over 60,000 responses including comments from Hillary Clinton and other elected officials, prompted a post from Cleveland firefighter that is now the center of an investigation. On July 3, Humans of New York posted a photo of a weeping child saying, “I’m homosexual and I’m afraid about what my future will be and that people won’t like me.”

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Settlements involving two fire departments are in the fire law news today. In New Jersey, a sexual harassment suit against the Franklin Township Fire District No. 3 has been settled. In Maryland, a wrongful death suit brought by the family of a 17-year old who died at a fire department sponsored carnival has been settled.

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