U.S. Settles Sexual Harassment Claims Against Baltimore County Fire Department

The U.S. Justice Department reports that it has reached a settlement with Baltimore County, Maryland for relief and compensation for female fire department employees subjected to sexual harassment.

The settlement resolves the DOJ’s complaint alleging that the county, through the Baltimore County Fire Department (BCFD), violated Title VII by subjecting several female employees to a hostile work environment on the basis of their sex. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex and religion.

Under the terms of the consent decree, if approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, BCFD will overhaul its process for investigating complaints of sexual harassment, provide periodic sexual harassment training to its employees and conduct a workplace climate survey to gather information to aid in efforts to keep the workplace free of harassment. The county will also pay $275,000 to compensate female employees that were harmed by the harassment.

“Women deserve protection from sexual harassment and sex discrimination in the workplace, and this lawsuit and consent decree demonstrate the department’s commitment to that principle,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

According to the department’s complaint, several female employees were subjected to a hostile work environment when a male coworker distributed nude and other inappropriate photographs of female BCFD employees to other coworkers, solicited the photographs from coworkers and posted the photos on a social media site.

The complaint further alleges that BCFD failed to take prompt and appropriate actions to correct the ongoing hostile work environment. As alleged, BCFD failed to promptly and thoroughly investigate the harassment and failed to adequately communicate with the victims as the harassment came to light, perpetuating the hostile work environment that the female employees faced.

“Every workplace should foster respect and dignity for all employees, period,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “Our mission to protect civil rights extends to sexual harassment and employers should be on notice that we will vigorously enforce the laws. We are pleased that Baltimore County has agreed to take comprehensive steps to ensure that their employees feel safe, respected and valued at their workplace.”

This case stems from a charge of discrimination by a commissioner for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and investigated by the EEOC’s Baltimore office. The EEOC investigated the charge and found reasonable cause to believe that BCFD violated Title VII. After unsuccessful conciliation efforts, the EEOC referred the charge to the Justice Department.

Topics USA Claims Maryland