WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has reached a settlement, through a consent decree with the City of Orlando, resolving allegations that the city violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it discriminated and retaliated against Dawn Sumter, a female assistant fire chief with the Orlando Fire Department,  the Justice Department announced.

The complaint and consent decree, filed in a federal district court in Orlando, resolve allegations that Sumter was sexually harassed by the former fire chief and then retaliated against by fire department leadership for complaining about the discrimination and harassment that she faced.  Sumter had filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging sexual harassment, and said after doing so, she faced retaliatory actions.

“Sexual harassment in the workplace is intolerable under any circumstance and is particularly pernicious where the victim is a public servant engaged in protecting fellow members of the community,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela S. Karlan of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division  said. “The type of sexual harassment and retaliation allegedly suffered by the assistant fire chief in this case prevents women who work in jobs historically dominated by men from protecting and serving the public on an equal basis.”

In response to the Justice Department’s announcement, the City of Orlando indicated it is working to resolve the litigation by Sumter and finalizing an agreement with the Justice Department:

“As a City, we remain committed to driving a culture that embraces inclusion and diversity, and that promotes the representation and inclusiveness of women in our fire department,” the statement said.  

“As you know, since these allegations were brought forth in 2017, the city made it a priority to further ensure the women within the department not only had a voice, but the opportunity to grow and thrive within the department, ultimately leading to the creation of the OFD Inclusivity and Equity Action Plan.”

The city also said, “While we’ve made great strides, we know this important work is not done and we must continue to evolve and improve our practices, policies and the overall culture within the Orlando Fire Department."

According to the City of Orlando, it already has made the following changes:

• Improved the design of new fire stations, 9, 6, and 11, including individual crew bunk rooms, showers, and restrooms to accommodate and promote privacy in the workplace
• Increased diversity in hiring practices. It cited new hire class Class 0620, which it said was the largest OFD class at 32 members. Of this class, 59% were of Asian, Black, or Hispanic ethnicity, and 12% were female. In 2019, statistics show that women accounted for only 4.6% of sworn fire service personnel.
• Hired a civilian investigator who works in an office outside the OFD headquarters to handle internal affairs.
• Established 13 work groups to increase representation of diversity and create further transparency within the department 

Under the terms of the consent decree, the City of Orlando will develop and submit to the United States for approval its discrimination and retaliation policies, complaint investigation procedures, and trainings that will be used at the  OFD.  The city also must provide training for all fire department employees on those policies and provide for future annual training on these subjects. The city will also was ordered to pay Sumter $251,500 in compensatory damages and $182,640 in attorney’s fees.

The agreement is part of the Civil Rights Division’s Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Initiative announced in February 2018.  It is aimed at eliminating sexual harassment in state and local government workplaces.