Jury Verdict Upheld for Female Firefighter in Florida

A female firefighter in Florida has won her appeal.  She was at one point the only female firefighter in the New Smyrna Beach Fire Department, that is, until the Department fired her after she complained about sexual harassment. Seven months ago, she won her federal jury trial against the City of New Smyrna Beach, and the jury awarded her $444,000 for discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation. The City moved to invalidate the jury's verdict, but the trial judge upheld the verdict. The City has now appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to overturn the judge's ruling. Meanwhile, the judge has ordered the City to reinstate the plaintiff to her former job.

Judge Denies New Smyrna's Appeal in Female Firefighter Sexual Harassment Case - Daytona Beach News-Journal

Here is a copy of last year's summary judgment ruling which provides some of the disgusting facts of the case:

SMITH v. CITY OF NEW SMYRNA BEACH - Leagle

To summarize, her supervisors told her the Department normally only hires men. They told her women should be "in the kitchen." They told her "women should not be in the fire service" and it was up to her "to prove otherwise." They covered her training manuals with cutouts from Cosmo Magazine. They called her "kid" and "girl." They questioned her about being a single mom and talked to her about her "mothering role." They told her they wanted her to get pregnant so she could be their secretary. They assigned her to babysit their kids and scrub the toilets and the urinals at the fire station. They told her if she ever brought tampons to work again she would be suspended. They disciplined her for using cuss words twice when all the male firefighters cussed on a regular basis because they told her "a lady should not talk like that." One firefighter told her she was hot and beautiful and that he wanted to bend her over. He sent her a picture of his penis. They told her it would make her "career very tough" if she filed a harassment complaint.

Yes, these things really do happen all the time, in the 21st Century!! Congratulations to this brave woman, her attorney, the jury, and the judge for a just result.