Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
A New Mexico firefighter who claims she was forced to resign due to a sexually hostile work environment has filed suit against the city, the mayor, the city manager, the fire chief, a battalion chief and a captain. Former Hobbs firefighter Caitlin Schultze filed suit in US District Court for the District of New Mexico.
Schultze, who was on the Hobbs Fire Department for just two years, claims that supervisors asked her inappropriately personal questions, pried into her personal life, and them made numerous sexually and racially inappropriate statements to her. When she complained the department initiated an investigation that resulted in disciplinary action against a ranking officer. However, the complaint alleges that the investigation was done too slowly. She also claims she was retaliated against during the pendency of the investigation and thereafter.
The complaint alleges Schultze left the department because she could not deal with the “constant bullying and hostile work environment, sexual harassment, and unwanted harassment” she was enduring. The three-count complaint alleges discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation. Here is a copy of the complaint. Here is a copy of the complaint:
