California Fire Department Sued for Alleged Gender Discrimination and Failure to Promote
A female firefighter with the Big Bear Fire Authority has filed a civil suit alleging sex-based discrimination and failure to prevent discrimination under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
Brittania Huether, a 23-year veteran of the Big Bear Fire Department, filed suit in San Bernardino County Superior Court against the department and the Big Bear Fire Authority. According to the complaint, she was hired in 2002 as a paid call firefighter, later promoted to full-time firefighter/paramedic in 2015, and most recently to Interim Fire Engineer in September 2025. She alleges that throughout her career she was repeatedly passed over in favor of male colleagues with less seniority, fewer certifications, or less experience.
The complaint alleges that Ms. Huether passed multiple promotional examinations for the rank of Fire Engineer beginning in 2017, but that two male colleagues were promoted within months while she remained on the eligibility list. At one point, she alleges that the department left an engineer position vacant rather than promote her, later opting to retest instead.
Ms. Huether further alleges that while she was on an extended medical leave following a work-related injury, the department denied her requested testing accommodations for a subsequent promotional exam, effectively removing her from promotional consideration for several years. The complaint claims that similar accommodations were granted to male firefighters on medical leave.
The complaint also details other alleged employment actions, including denial of a fitness bonus she claims she earned, being temporarily removed from her sleeping quarters following a coworker complaint about sharing a room with a woman, and a later reassignment from her preferred station despite her seniority. According to the complaint, she was the most senior full-time firefighter/paramedic at the time of the station transfer and alleges no similarly situated male firefighters were reassigned.
Huether alleges that she filed internal complaints and raised concerns with supervisors and human resources, but that no corrective action was taken. The complaint states that she was promoted to Interim Engineer only after the department learned that she had retained legal counsel.
The suit asserts two causes of action: discrimination based on sex or gender in violation of FEHA, and failure to prevent discrimination. Here is a copy of the complaint.
