SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - A lesbian assistant chief at the San Francisco Fire Department has failed to allege she was retaliated against, the city says in response to her lawsuit.
Though Nicol Juratovac's whistleblower retaliation and discrimination lawsuit alleged a "good old boy" mentality, she never suffered real punishment in seven investigations into her actions, a motion for summary adjudication filed Aug. 19 says.
Only one of the investigations resulted in anything more than a "coaching session," the motion says.
"Juratovac, who identifies as Asian, female and LGBTQ, has been consistently promoted through the ranks of the San Francisco Fire Department and now holds the highest civil service rank in SFFD," the motion says.
"She has not been terminated or demoted. Nor does she allege she was subjected to offensive epithets related to race, gender or sexual orientation."
Juratovac's complaints about the department included a September 2017 party that featured plenty of alcohol and at least one instance of sexual harassment, her suit says. After reporting what she learned, Juratovac says she began "experiencing an even greater level of hostility" from colleagues.
She had also complained some employees were cheating on the battalion chief promotional exam and supported a co-worker's race discrimination lawsuit against the City.
Retaliation included seven investigations into her work performance that she claims caused her emotional distress. But the City says she was only ever punished once - a four-day suspension - and all were in response to "credible allegations of misconduct."
She was suspended for four days after allegedly improperly disclosing a probationary firefighter was LGBTQ during a ladder drill.
"Each of these investigations were within the scope of SFFD’s business/governmental duties and personnel management," the motion says.