Firefighter Awarded $6.2M In Discrimination Case

A jury awarded $6 million to a Los Angeles firefighter who said she was harassed by colleagues because she is black and lesbian.

Brenda Lee's lawsuit against the Fire Department claimed her superiors made derogatory comments about her and put her through grueling drills without proper safety precautions because of her race and sexual orientation.

She also alleged that someone put urine in her mouthwash. The jury payout was the largest in a string of recent settlements of cases alleging discrimination and retaliation against women and minorities within the Fire Department.

As a fire fighter myself this type of behaviour does surprise me, however I must admit I believe every Fire Service in the world would fear discrimination cases against them as their are many homophobic people working within the service.