A pair of New Jersey fire departments are currently facing discrimination allegations that come from former members, both of whom are women. While the details in each case are different, they both indicate that the working environment is not necessarily the same for women as for men. Any woman who feels that she has been subjected to workplace harassment or discrimination based on her gender does have a right to seek a lawsuit against the company or organization that let such a thing happen, as laws are on the books that defend women’s rights in the workplace.
In the first case, a woman who worked at the Franklin Community Volunteer Fire Department, which is located in Fire District 3, says that she was unfairly fired. She claims that she reported sexual harassment that came from a deputy chief. She had been working on the force for around a year at that time. Instead of working to fix the problem or fire the chief, though, she says that she was then fired as a result of her complaint.
In the second case, a woman is taking another department to court for the second time. She already started up and won a case in 2009 when she said that the workplace was sexually hostile for her. She claimed this poor work environment existed because of the actions of one man, a district commissioner. She won that case and got $150,000 for it.
However, according to her second case, she was then subjected to death threats. These came after she got her settlement.
Since these departments are funded by local taxes, they are considered to be nonprofits. As such, they do not have local government oversight protocols in place.
Source: MyCentralJersey.com, “Second Franklin fire district facing discrimination lawsuit by female ex-member” Sergio Bichao, Apr. 08, 2014
