Firefighters Sue City Over Gay Pride Parade
A trial starts today in a lawsuit in which San Diego firefighters claim they suffered damages after being forced to participate in a gay pride parade.
The Allegations
The July 2007 gay pride parade in San Diego’s Hillcrest area drew approximately 150,000 attendees. The firefighters contend that they were ordered to drive a firetruck in the parade even though firefighters at previous parades had been subjected to sexually suggestive comments and other forms of harassment.
According to the complaint, the firefighters were ordered by Fire Chief Tracy Jarman to participate when not enough people volunteered. The firefighters claim that Jarman is a lesbian and marched in the parade.
“This is not an anti-gay thing,” said Charles LiMandri, the firefighters’ attorney. “These guys have served the Hillcrest community for years with dignity and honor. They just feel firefighters should not be forced to participate in a parade where firefighters have been harassed in the past.”
The lawsuit described the parade as “a sexually licentious event, where raucous and lewd behavior, conduct and dress is permitted.” As evidence, the plaintiffs submitted photographs of scantily clad parade-goers and a list of inappropriate comments allegedly made to the firefighters.
In addition to the alleged sexual harassment, the plaintiffs claim that the parade was a political event “designed to advocate for the civil rights of homosexuals, and in recent years to promote the controversial concept of gay marriage.” The firefighters contend that by being forced to participate, they were forced to support a political cause. They contend that several prominent San Diego officials participated in the parade, including the city attorney.
The firefighters reportedly are seeking $3 million in damages, including reimbursement for therapy sessions and attorneys’ fees. “I’ve dealt with finding bodies in burning buildings, traffic accidents with kids, but I’ve never been so stressed out before until this incident,” said one of the plaintiffs.
The City’s Response
City Attorney Michael Aguirre argues that firefighters are “required to serve the community without discrimination as to sexual orientation.” He says that riding in a firetruck during the parade is no different than other job-related public-relations duties, such as taking firetrucks to schools.
In its court brief, the city suggests that the firefighters’ feelings of harassment likely resulted from negative reactions to the lawsuit from the public and co-workers, including a perception that the plaintiffs are “money-grubbers.”
The city also points to a lawsuit in which an employee working on the TV show Friends claimed that “sexually coarse and vulgar language” used by the show’s writers constituted harassment. According to the city, that lawsuit failed because lewd talk alone is not enough to establish harassment.
The Lesson
The lesson here is pretty simple. Regardless of the result of this suit, employers should think long and hard before requiring employees to participate in any event that is (1) not clearly job-related, (2) politically charged and/or (3) likely to subject employees to harassment or other inappropriate conduct. If any of those factors is present, you could quickly wind up in court.
Stay tuned to see how this case turns out. In the meantime, click here for an article from the Los Angeles Times with additional details.
