LAFD: Appellate court reverses black lesbian firefighter discrimination settlement

Thursday, February 18, 2010

LAFD: Appellate court reverses black lesbian firefighter discrimination settlement

Calif. court reverses $6.2M firefighter judgment

LOS ANGELES -- A California appellate court on Thursday reversed a $6.2 million verdict against the city of Los Angeles in a discrimination lawsuit filed by a black lesbian firefighter.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal issued its decision in the case brought by Brenda Lee of Mission Hills, who sued the city alleging the fire department discriminated against her based on her race, gender and sexual orientation and refused to transfer her after she complained of harassment.

Lee claimed her superiors yelled and made derogatory comments about her and put her through grueling drills without proper safety precautions. She also claimed someone put urine in her mouthwash.

The 2007 jury payout was the largest in a string of settlements in cases that alleged discrimination and retaliation against women and minorities within the Los Angeles Fire Department. The cases have cost taxpayers more than $15 million since 2005.

An investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concluded that the city fire department engaged in a pattern of discrimination, harassment and retaliation against black and female firefighters. There was sufficient evidence to show the department violated federal civil rights laws in Lee's case, the commission said in an October 2007 letter to the department.

The appeals court found that Lee failed to pursue all administrative remedies following her termination in 2005. Lee claimed she was placed on unpaid leave in May 2005 "under the pretext that she was psychologically unfit to be a firefighter."

The city also argued in its appeal that some evidence didn't support the conclusion that Lee's termination was discriminatory, and some evidence supporting the city's case was excluded.

Allegations of racial and sexual discrimination at the 3,900-member department contributed to the early retirement of Fire Chief William Bamattre, who was blamed for failing to root out hazing and harassment during a decade on the job.

Source: Washington Times - Article link

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Thursday, February 18, 2010