Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
A New Hampshire firefighter who resigned last December after enduring what he claims was years of sexually harassing comments and retaliation is now suing his former employer. Christopher R. Golomb filed suit against the City of Concord last month in Merrimack County Superior Court.
The suit alleges gender discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation under federal and state law. The city had the case removed to US District Court for the District of New Hampshire.
Golomb claims that the harassment began back in 2011 with comments about him being gay, despite him being heterosexual. He began keeping track of the comments by writing them down and eventually complaining to the city’s human resources department about them in 2016. A formal investigation was not conducted and the harassment continued. In 2020, after a series of incidents occurred he again filed a complaint, which led to an independent investigation.
After filing the complaint, Golomb claims he was ostracized by colleagues, hyper-scrutinized by his officers, and transferred against his wishes. The investigation found no evidence of a hostile environment or retaliation, but did find “that inappropriate behavior which runs counter to [the department’s] Policy on Non- Discrimination and Sexual Harassment occurred.”
Unable to deal with the harassment, Golomb resigned in December, 2023. He is alleging his resignation constituted a constructive termination.
Here is a copy of the complaint. Those who have been through Managing Disciplinary Challenges in the Fire Service as well as the more advanced classes will recognize a very common fact pattern we see all too often: index-card problems; failure to recognize and handle employee problems early through an objective and formal investigation process; and the failure to recognize and stop retaliation. If we recognize these issues early they can be managed without anyone needing to be disciplined – and long before an alienated employee has any thoughts about filing a lawsuit. Ignoring these challenges too often leads to a predictable outcome.
