A federal jury sided with an ex-Rhode Island firefighter Monday in a gender discrimination and sexual harassment case against the city of Providence.
The panel awarded Lt. Lori Franchina a total of $806,000, which includes emotional and punitive damages, as well as "future wages" she claims she would have earned had she not retired early.
Retired since 2013, Franchina, who is a lesbian, filed a civil-rights lawsuit in 2012 alleging 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."
The lawsuit goes into further detail about how she is now suffering from PTSD as a result of the harassment. In particular, she claimed that even as she rose to the rank of lieutenant within the department, any attempts to complain to her superiors or union resulted in "swift and severe retaliation."
"They chose not to protect her," Franchina's lawyer, John T. Martin, told the jury. "If those rules don't protect Lori, they don't protect anybody."
Franchina's testimony indicates that she started working for the fire department in 2002, but her problems began three years later, in 2005, when the acting lieutenant at the time gave her the nickname "Frangina," an obvious allusion to female genitalia.
Things only went south from there, according to the 19-page lawsuit that describes several more incidents. For example, in 2006, there was an incident when her colleagues allegedly refused to help her save someone's life:
"Lt. Franchina ascertained [a patient] had a viable pulse and was a candidate for lifesaving medicine and intervention," the lawsuit reads. "Several male firefighters refused to help her move the body. The patient's family members were yelling, 'Why doesn't somebody help her?' The patient never regained consciousness."
The lawsuit describes another incident, in 2009, when Franchina was working on a victim who had been shot in the head. A male colleague allegedly snapped his rubber glove in her face, which "launched blood, brain matter and other fluids into her mouth, nostrils, eyes and ears."
These incidents are bad enough, but what's particularly troubling is that no one was ever truly punished for them. For example, one firefighter referenced in the lawsuit was fired in 2006, but got his job back through a grievance procedure. In a similar vein, another firefighter was merely disciplined in 2009, but is still on active duty.
In its defense, the city said Franchina was known to be difficult to work with and alleged that she failed to lodge a complaint with its Equal Employment Opportunity officer. However, the panel ruled against it, awarding Franchina $806,000 in damages, which included $545,000 for lost wages, $161,000 for emotional damages and $100,000 for punitive damages.
Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza said the city plans to appeal the verdict.
