Mississippi Members Win Discrimination Lawsuit

May 31, 2007 -- When Tiffany Alexander joined the Jackson, Mississippi Fire Department in 1999, she was trained and qualified to fight fires. Instead, she was fighting off sexual advances from several male fire fighters working in the same department.

Jacqueline Moore

And she was not alone. Fellow female fire fighters Sandra Hawkins, Stacy Prophet and Jacqueline Moore were also targets of severe sexual harassment on the job, including unwanted groping and other sexually explicit conduct. "There are a lot of great men on the job, but a select few ruined everything," says Alexander.

When the four women complained to their employer and to their captains about the sexual harassment, things only got worse. Jackson Fire Chief Raymond McNulty did nothing to respond to the complaints or remedy the problems. The harassers, which included one division chief, retaliated, taking adverse employment action and continuing their routine of harassment.

The harassment became so bad that one of the women went on temporary disability and another took a mental health leave of absence. A third took leave. Eventually, all but one resigned. "I still feel like a fire fighter even though I have been off the job since July 2006," says Prophet. "It wasn’t a job that I wanted to give up. But, the situation did not allow me to stay."

The message from their harassers was clear: Women were not welcome in the Jackson Fire Department. Worse, the City of Jackson refused to take their complaints seriously. In fact, the City never even conducted a serious investigation or disciplined a single person.

Tiffany Alexander

In 2003, the IAFF – through its legal counsel Woodley and McGillivary – filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claim on behalf of the four women. Molly Elkin, a partner with the firm of Woodley & McGillivary, served as lead counsel during in this case, assisted by Ellen Eardley, an associate at Woodley & McGillivary.

The mediation process that ensued following the EEOC complaint failed when the City argued it had no authority to settle the case. “The City simply refused to take responsibility,” says Eardley.

The IAFF quickly took on the case under the Guardian Policy, filing a lawsuit in federal court under Title VII – starting a legal battle that would drag on for four years. In the end, on May 30, 2007, after a lengthy trial, a jury found in favor of the four IAFF members who were subjected to ongoing, unlawful sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation on the job at the fire department. The jury awarded compensatory damages to the female plaintiffs in the total amount of $657,000, as well as an additional sum of $100,000 in punitive damages against the fire chief, division chief and three captains – all individual defendants in the case. All are now retired.

Stacy Prophet

“This jury did what the City and the fire department couldn’t do for four years,” says Elkin. “The City and its attorneys opposed us at every turn, resisting all efforts to settle the case on a fair and reasonable basis. They now undoubtedly regret that ill-advised approach.”

“We have righted a very serious wrong,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “This is a significant win for these four women and the entire IAFF membership as it demonstrates what an effective union can do to enforce legal protections and secure justice for members who are abused on the job and who deserve justice and full relief.

“Local 87 is proud that justice was done in this case,” says Jackson, MS Local 87 President Brendan Falcon. “The actions of these five individuals certainly do not represent the attitude towards women by the entire department as a whole or members of this union.”

Sandra Hawkins

"I am thankful that I was a union member," says Alexander. "The IAFF made sure that we did not have to go through this ourselves. The union gave us a voice." Hawkins echoes Alexander's gratitude. I thank the IAFF for its ears and assistance," she says. "We would not have been able to do this without the IAFF. Our union was the only one who cared."

Moore adds, "It was because of the IAFF that we got our day in court. I am thankful for that. The jury got to hear both sides. The real victory was that the truth finally came out. It was a true vindication."

“It’s a loss to the City of Jackson Fire Department to not have these women as fire fighters. They were amazing fire fighters,” says Falcon.