LYNDEN, Wash. — A civil lawsuit filed by a former Lynden Fire Department (LFD) firefighter against the City of Lynden Fire Department and 2 administrators, a male department head and the firefighter’s male supervisor, in September of 2022 has been scheduled to go to trial on September 10th in Whatcom County Superior Court.
According to court documents, the plaintiff was hired in 2016 by LFD as a paid part-time firefighter. According to the complaint, the firefighter accuses the defendants of discriminatory behavior based on her gender that began after the hiring of the department head in 2018.
The plaintiff states in the complaint that she was hired as a full-time entry-level firefighter about 2 weeks after the department head was hired.
The complaint said the plaintiff was isolated and not treated as an equal when compared to other males whose imperfect performances were rated “good enough” while the plaintiff’s “would be openly belittled for any perceived flaw.”
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Click for more informationShortly after being hired as a full-time firefighter, the plaintiff learned she was pregnant. She was allowed accommodations recommended by her medical provider while she continued her training and work until going on maternity leave.
Upon returning from leave, the plaintiff claims she was harassed regarding breast pumping breaks including having the equipment “tampered by others.”
While responding to “her first major fire,” the plaintiff claims a male firefighter intentionally hit her on the side of her head with a stream of water from a firehose and she was knocked down by the force. This was done in front of her supervisor who, she stated, took no action to discipline or correct the male firefighter.
The complaint states that the plaintiff submitted a letter of resignation in 2020. During a meeting with the department head, she “shared her concerns of discrimination and harassment due to her gender.” In response, she was told to “hang in there” and that she had his support. He advised changing shifts or return to part-time to “minimize her exposure to the offensive and discriminatory conduct,” according to the complaint. The plaintiff returned to a part-time position with LFD.
Click for more informationThe plaintiff said in the complaint that the hostile conduct continued during the following year.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff and other female firefighters reported and shared their concerns over the conduct with the department head “on more than 1 occasion.” Then, in early 2021, “after individuals from outside the LFD and from other fire departments began complaining and the remaining female firefighters began exiting” an outside workplace investigation was begun.
Following the investigation, anti-harassment trainings began but some, including the supervisor, “were witnessed as being openly disengaged” and “making unsupportive, adverse comments about the trainings,” according to the complaint.
The plaintiff said that by the end of 2021 she resigned from LFD due no longer feeling safe or welcome.
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Click for more informationIn their answer to the complaint, LFD and the administrators named as defendants state that when the plaintiff announced to co-workers her intention to resign in 2020, she said, “she was resigning because she missed her kids too much and was struggling with postpartum issues.” This was reportedly repeated during a meeting with administrators after they received her letter of resignation.
LFD and the administrators also contend they received a letter from the plaintiff’s attorney in February of 2021, a month after the workplace investigation began, that the plaintiff was taking an extended leave due to “expected escalated retaliation.” She never returned to work again after being granted a personal leave of absence extension through the end of 2021.
They also noted that a female firefighter who gave notice about the same time stated she was leaving LFD to pursue a goal of becoming a paramedic, a position not offered at LFD.
The defendants say the workplace investigation did not find evidence that LFD intentionally discriminated against female personnel. But the report did note “some division” between personnel who grew up in Lynden and newcomers to the area regardless of gender.