Woman firefighter awarded $806,000 compensation in gender and sexual discrimination case

Lori Franchina said she was discriminated against and harassed because of her gender and sexual orientation

Ms Franchina said she suffered years of harassment, embarrassment and discrimination (YouTube)

A former firefighter has received hundreds of thousands of dollars after a four year battle for compensation in a discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit.

Lori Franchina filed a lawsuit in Rhode Island claiming that her male colleagues subjected her to “such intense, constant, and prolific mistreatment that she eventually was left in multiple situations in which her safety was compromised”.

She was awarded $806,0000, including lost wages, emotional damages and punitive damages.

Ms Franchina, who is a lesbian, alleged that she was mistreated because of her gender and sexual orientation, and she described suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after years of harassment.

The former firefighter made several complaints to her superiors and to unions, but she received “swift and severe retaliation” even as she rose to the rank of lieutenant, as reported by The Washington Post.

The Associated Press reported that Ms Franchina was accused by city officials of not having filed a complaint with its Equal Employment Opportunity officer and she had a reputation of being difficult to work with.

“That’s what it’s about, Lori Franchina being unable to get along with her supervisors, subordinates, or fellow firefighters,” city prosecutor Kevin McHugh said, according to the Providence Journal.

Ms Franchina started working for the fire department in 2002 and said her problems began three years later. She has been on duty sick leave since 2012 and undergoes daily therapy.

The acting lieutenant gave her the disparaging nickname of “frangina”, referring to female genitalia.

She claimed she as routinely embarrassed, her colleagues failed to help her with medical emergencies, and made comments like “normally, I don’t like working with women”.

The same man, Andre Ferro, once pinched his nipple and yelled “my lesbian lover”. He was fired in 2006 but won his job back through a grievance procedure.

“It had an effect almost every day,” Franchina told CBS affiliate WPRI. “It breaks you. It wears you down. You still try to come to work every day and do your job well.”

In 2009, when one colleague cornered her and yelled at her, she asked her lieutenant to intervene. He reportedly said: “I’m not your f***ing babysitter.”

Prosecutor Mr McHugh told the jury that the fire department had responded to Ms Franchina’s complaints by altering its practices and telling staff they needed to work as a team.

He also talked about supposed incidents in which her actions made emergency calls much more stressful for the mothers of young children who were sick or injured.