Black Lesbian Firefighter Wins Multimillion Dollar Lawsuit

Mad Professah has been covering the reports of multiple incidents of discrimination in the Los Angeles Fire Department for months now. This week, a jury found in favor of Brenda Lee in lawsuit claiming sexual orientation, gender and race discrimination and awarded the African American lesbian $6.2 million in the first penalty phase. Punitive damages are likely to be even larger. Pam at The Blend and 365gay.com have the story:

Lee alleged in her lawsuit that her superiors made derogatory comments about her, ignored her protests of discrimination. The lawsuit said that she was forced her into grueling drills that other firefighters were not subjected to and that proper safety precautions during the drills were ignored.

The suit also claimed that someone at the fire hall put urine in her mouthwash.

[...]

Lee filed a discrimination case in 2001 and later the civil lawsuit alleging she had been the victim of homophobic bias on the job.

Two other firefighters who testified in the discrimination case also filed lawsuits against the department claiming that as a result of their support for Lee they too became victims of discrimination.

Lewis Bressler sued the city claiming he had been forced to retire as a result of testifying for Lee. A jury in April awarded him $1.7 million. The verdict is under appeal.

A second firefighter, Gary Mellinger, settled his lawsuit last year for $350,000.

Oddly, the jury awarded a mere $2,500 in punitive damages, according to Kevin Broderick at LA Observed.