Employee awarded $250K in discrimination lawsuit against Nashville Fire Department
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A jury awarded $250,000 in damages to a longtime employee of the Nashville Fire Department after a discrimination lawsuit.
Maggie Lawrence filed a suit against the Metropolitan Government of Nashville through the fire department claiming that she was discriminated against under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Age Discrimination Act of 1967.
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The lawsuit states Lawrence was hired by NFD in 1992 as a fire inspector. For her more than thirty years of employment at the fire department, Lawrence worked multiple roles, which included fire investigator, Assistant Fire Marshal and Deputy Fire Marshal.
According to court documents, Lawrence was preparing to become NFD’s first female Fire Marshal, but the department’s chief took “drastic measures to ensure the ‘good ole boys club’” stayed in place.
It was alleged Chief Willian Swann reassigned a younger, less experienced male employee from another department to the fire marshal’s office and instructed Lawrence and her boss train him to take over.
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However, when her boss — Fire Marshal Al Thomas — suggested she was a more qualified candidate, he was fired, the suit said. As a result, Lawrence was passed over for promotion.
Chief Swann allegedly told Ms. Lawrence “It would not be smart of me to put someone in that position – at that level – and they not going to be here but for a next few years.”
In 2022, Lawrence reportedly filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) but was informed “the agency was not able to resolve the controversy.” She was granted the right to sue on June 6, 2022.
According to the suit, Lawrence was 63 years old when the incident occurred and had “no intentions of retiring anytime soon.”
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A jury ruled in favor of Lawrence and awarded her $250,000 in damages.
In response to the lawsuit, the Nashville Fire Department said: “We respectfully disagree with the jury’s decision, but respect the judicial process. The Nashville Fire Department is committed to promoting the most qualified personnel because it’s not only right, but impacts the safety of our community. We will rely on Metro Legal for next steps. This does not change our mission to be the world class emergency response department for our residents and visitors.”
A spokesperson for Mayor Freddie O’Connell said the mayor is “aware of the judge’s decision in this case, and he’s asked Metro Legal for an update or recommendation concerning next steps.”
No other information was released.
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