Tag Archives: retaliation

Today’s burning question: My fire department has been miscalculating our overtime pay, so we filed suit under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The fire department responded by requiring a doctor’s note for all sick leave of two consecutive days or more. Isn’t that retaliation? Answer: Retaliation is a question of fact, but if the fire department did alter your working conditions the department could be facing additional damages for retaliation.

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A Mount Vernon firefighter who served briefly as deputy fire commissioner has filed suit against the city, the mayor, a captain and a chief accusing them of harassment, race discrimination, retaliation and whistleblower violations. Ernest Richardson filed suit against the City of Mount Vernon, the Mount Vernon Fire Department, Mayor Richard Thomas, Ops Chief al Farid Salahuddin and Captain Michael St. John.

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Two former chief officers of the Pensacola Fire Department have settled their lawsuits against the city for the sum of $575,000. Interim Chief Matthew Schmitt and Deputy Chief Joseph Glover filed separate lawsuits back in 2016 accusing the city of race discrimination and retaliation.

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A New York firefighter who was suspended and ultimately terminated from his fire department over social media posts, has filed suit against his department, four chief officers, and four fire commissioners. John Tyson filed suit earlier this month against the St. James Department, the St. James Fire District...

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A whistleblower lawsuit filed earlier this year by a fired Texas firefighter, has been removed to federal court. Todd Anthony Foust was terminated last year by the City of Corinth and the Lake Cities Fire Department. He claims that he was terminated in retaliation for complaints he made about firefighters using tobacco products as well as complaints he made about his captain.

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A veteran LA City firefighter who claims he was ostracized after complaining about the way the city’s dive team was being run, has been awarded $2.75 million for retaliation by a superior court jury. Stephen Meiche claims that after he reported that dive team members had improperly destroyed and discarded property bought with federal UASI funds, he was “ostracized".

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A Marietta, Georgia firefighter not only lost her sexual harassment lawsuit, she was ordered to pay the city’s costs in an order handed down last week. Former Lieutenant Margaret Richardson filed suit last year alleging sex discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

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A former administrator from St. Tammany Parish Fire District 12 has filed suit claiming he was forced to resign in 2015 in retaliation for his whistleblowing. Ray Newton served as a financial manager for the district.

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A New Jersey fire chief who sued his bosses earlier this year, has been demoted. Plainfield Fire Chief Frank Tidwell filed suit claiming city officials were conspiring to force him into retirement. Last Friday, the city released a statement that he was being demoted...

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An Oregon fire chief who was terminated in 2013 after refusing to unilaterally reduce staffing was awarded $500,000 in damages last week. Fire Chief James Wenzel brought the lawsuit claiming that Klamath County Fire District No. 1 breached his employment contract and retaliated against him.

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A Texas firefighter who was terminated after complaining about the way his fire department was calculating his hours and compensation while on Army reserve duty has filed suit alleging retaliation under both the USERRA and the FLSA. Bradley R. Casey was a captain with the Horseshoe Bay Fire Department.

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A former EMT with the San Francisco Fire Department is suing the department and several of her colleagues for discrimination on the basis of her sexual orientation. Jennifer Galarza filed suit in San Francisco County Superior Court alleging she was wrongfully terminated and harassed because she is a lesbian.

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A Cincinnati district chief who twice reported misconduct by other chief officers and thereafter was passed over for promotion, is appealing a ruling by a US District Court in favor of the city. District Chief Raffel Prophett filed suit last year accusing City Manager Harry Black of labeling him as a trouble-maker and blocking his promotion to Assistant Chief.

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A federal judge in Arkansas has ruled that a change to a fire department’s policy on substitutions did not violate the FMLA, nor constitute retaliation against a firefighter who prompted the change. Eric Andersen filed suit last February against the Springdale Fire Department and three chief officers.

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