Phoenix Sexual Harassment Case Settlement Prompts Call For Investigation
The settlement of a contentious sexual harassment lawsuit in the Phoenix Fire Department has prompted one city councilman to demand an investigation.
Councilman Sal DiCiccio has requested that the Phoenix Department of Public Safety investigate the allegations of firefighter Julie Simpson, whose 2011 Federal sexual harassment lawsuit has been settled… we think… Then again maybe not.
ABC15.com quoted DiCiccio as saying “What shocks me the most is how long this type of behavior was allowed to go on, and how nothing was done to stop it. No one was punished and she was moved because of the claims. You don’t move the victim, you protect them.”
The allegations of harassment include placing Simpson’s uniforms in a freezer, feeding her a meal that included a cooked sponge, calling her an assortment of vulgar names, and the following statements:
- “it was nice not having a girl in the station”;
- “we want a guy on the truck, so would you leave”:
- “men are more mechanical, and are therefore better drivers than women”;
- “he’s a guy, he can figure it out”;
- “you can’t do the job, your just too small and you’re a female”;
- “guys don’t want girls in the station because of women like you”;
- “you’re the kind of woman who should be a secretary or nurse, not a fire fighter”;
- “you’re clothes are too tight, they [i.e., Plaintiff’s male counterparts in the Fire Department] will just look at you as someone to [explicative]…”;
- “you’re too small and you’re a female, you should be off the truck and working as a secretary”;
- “you talk too much, guys don’t like to hear girls talk.”
Various news sources have reported that the case has been settled with the city agreeing to pay Simpson $70,000. While court documents indicate the case has been dismissed, the Phoenix City Council remarkably tabled discussion on the settlement last Wednesday, and will take the matter up again on October 31, 2012.
Here is a copy of the complaint: Simpson v Phoenix
Here is a copy of the dismissal order: Dismissal Order
C-
Glad you are covering this.
Eric
There is a lot more to this story. I can only imagine how the firefighters and other workers think of her. The hard cold facts are unbelievable. Myself being a male firefighter understands this women will be shunned forever. This should go to trial to share with the taxpayers the entire story. Awarding a minimal amount of dollars won’t stop the place from retaliation. A trial or a large sum of money should be rewarded to set an example to the department and coworkers her story is real and real bad. Take some of the money from the people who are paid a healthy salary pay for a percentage of the lawsuit. They are the very people the community pays to do the right thing and at least their job. They ignored it to help it go away and now a few years later they are doing the same by giving her a small amount for her pain and suffering.
Hey Chuck, how about referencing something you know about for a change as you are obviously highly uninformed about the details of this situation. This is simply a case of an incompetent and in my opinion, unstable employee who wreaked havoc anywhere she worked. There were some mishandlings of her case but that was from the administrative level.
So take a bad employee who was not fired years ago like she should have been, combine it with a lunatic, egomaniac councilperson who has had it out for the fire department since day one and the current situation is the end result.
The PFD has had a large number of female firefighters for the past 25 plus years. If its current male members or organization had a propensity for sexual harassment then why is this the only case of sexual harassment to ever emerge from the PFD in recent history?
Im pretty sure once her personnel file, arrest mugshots, etc get released we will see just how much a “victim” she really was.
May I offer my personal insights into the sexual harassment problems – NOT IN PHOENIX (I have no knowledge of this specific case) – but in general throughout the fire service:
1. There is an awful lot of sexual harassment going on in the stations that most guys are oblivious to. (HINT: saying/doing stuff you wouldn’t say/do around your Mom, wife or daughter should be a clue you are stepping over a line)…
2. Even if a woman is not being harassed there are enough dumb things that are said and done in the course of a typical day in the firehouse that someone could easily make a very strong case of sexual harassment without even having to fabricate any details (assuming the person was so inclined).
3. Most women are not inclined to allege sexual harassment until things are so bad for them they are at the breaking point. This goes for incompetent women (yes they do exist) as well as competent women (yes they do exist).
We have a long way to go. Till we get there, applying peer pressure to women who are deemed by their co-workers to be “incompetent” is a sure fire recipe for a sexual harassment lawsuit.
When I joined the Dept. 25 plus years ago, I had male firefighters making obscene remarks, grabbing ‘parts’ that today would get them charged, rubbing their front ‘parts’ in our faces, etc. Often, the captains were sitting less than a foot away and did/said nothing. We knew we were forging new paths and had step carefully, not wanting to give fuel to the neanderthals they were right, women couldn’t take it. This lasted for years until most of the dinosaurs retired, but it never fully stopped, there are little men still hanging around. We also had our supporters and without them it would have been even more difficult. We worked hard, harder than the men, just to prove we belonged. Ignoring it didn’t make it go away, it just made them more determined to succeed. Some were worse than others, sometimes whole shifts were part of the sick game. When you are a woman in a group of pathetic little men, then you’ll have a some level of credibility.
Phonix Councilperson Sal DiCiccio is to be commended for hold the Phoenix FD Accountabile for the improper documentation.
Let the case investigation proceed and in the end, “Heads Roll” where appropriate.
As far as the $ 70,000 dollar settlement, I have seen where $ Milions have been paid out elsewhere for the exact same stuff and the “Chief” go to work some place else.
Just a follow up to this story for all of you folks who were quick to jump on the bandwago and criticize the PFD in this situation. An independent investigation by the Arizona department of public safety found no evidence of criminal activity or wrongdoing by the PFD in this situation. Vice President of the firefighters union has called upon Sal DiCiccio to offer a formal apology for his irresponsible allegations. Mr. DiCiccio has been remarkably silent ever since.