{"id":606,"date":"2020-07-17T02:33:29","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T02:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=606"},"modified":"2020-07-26T01:27:40","modified_gmt":"2020-07-26T01:27:40","slug":"ohio-civil-rights-commission-once-again-finds-fire-department-guilty-of-discrimination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/17\/ohio-civil-rights-commission-once-again-finds-fire-department-guilty-of-discrimination\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio Civil Rights Commission Once Again Finds Fire Department Guilty of Discrimination"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Fletcher Word\"\"
\nSojourner\u2019s Truth Editor<\/p>\n

For the second time in a month, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission has ruled in favor of an African-American firefighter trainee who had been dismissed by the Toledo Fire Department. The Commission held that the dismissal was a result of unlawful discrimination.<\/p>\n

On July 2, 2020, the Commission, in a Letter of Determination, stated that it had conducted an investigation into trainee Sierra Adebisi\u2019s allegations against the City of Toledo and that, as a result of that investigation, found that \u201cthe information gathered does support a recommendation that Respondent [City of Toledo] unlawfully discriminated against Charging Party [Sierra Adebisi].<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this probable cause [finding[, I feel I can finally exhale,\u201d said\"\" Adebisi at a press conference last week during which she and her representative, Earl Murry, announced the findings of the Commission.<\/p>\n

The language of the determination is almost exactly the same as the language of the Letter of Determination on June 4 in which the Commission found that the City of Toledo has also unlawfully discriminated against Randall Fuller, another African-American firefighter trainee, who was dismissed on May 3, 2019.<\/p>\n

However, while the Commission determination is a critically important first step for the firefighter trainees seeking redress from the City for the unlawful dismissals, it is not the end of the road. The Commission now recommends mediation between the parties which would presumably lead to reinstatement and the payment of back wages for the charging parties.<\/p>\n

However, as past examples have shown, mediation is not likely to happen, says Norman Abood, an attorney who represents both Fuller and Adebisi. The city, says Abood, has not traditionally been responsive.<\/p>\n

Murry echoed that thought during his press conference. \u201cWe want to try to mediate and conciliate but the City has in the past not been responsive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like talking to the wall,\u201d Abood says more pointedly of that lack of responsiveness and the City\u2019s unwillingness to come to the table and mediate. Indeed, all the City needs to do in response to the Commission\u2019s finding is ultimately reinstate Adebisi (and Fuller) and provide back pay.<\/p>\n

When the time runs out for the mediation \u2013 which it will 10 days after the Commission\u2019s findings, the firefighter\u2019s option is to file suit, in which case she will be seeking more than just reinstatement. Compensation and punitive damages will be on the table in court, says Abood, who has already filed such a suit on Fuller\u2019s behalf and will undoubtedly be doing on Adebisi\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n

Adebisi, says Abood, would prefer to take the simpler route. \u201cHer goal is not money,\u201d says her attorney, \u201cit\u2019s reinstatement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adebisi was admitted to the Fire Department\u2019s training academy on February 27, 2019. On August 22, as she was ready to graduate the following day having passed \u201cevery test that [the department] had given me,\u201d she recalled, she was informed via a letter from Chief Brian Byrd that \u201cdue to your overall unacceptable performance in the academy\u201d she was being terminated immediately.<\/p>\n

Attorney Abood has already filed on behalf of his client, Randall Fuller, a case that followed closely on the heels of another dismissed Toledo firefighter, Major Smith III, who was terminated on June 12, 2018, because of his inability to properly cut a hole in a roof \u201cin a manner which assured he would fail and, at a minimum, required him to overcome artificial obstacles not required of any other trainee fireman,\u201d wrote Murry in a guest column to The Truth last year.<\/p>\n

The Smith case also could not be mediated because of the City\u2019s obstinacy and is currently in the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals after a summary dismissal by U.S. District Court Judge Jack Zouhary.<\/p>\n

Court is not quite enough for Murry. Adebisi\u2019s representative wants heads to roll.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn view of the Ohio Governmental Agency Probable Cause rulings, now and previously rendered, it is clear the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department needs an enema of ranking officers who continue to perform illegal acts through their behavior and decisions,\u201d said Murry during last week\u2019s press conference. \u201cChief Byrd should resign or be replaced; other ranking officers known to practice racial and sexual discriminant should be replaced or terminated immediately \u2026 I am calling for the Mayor of Toledo to resign from office. He has failed to act when confronted with indisputable facts, has fostered discrimination against African Americans, levels of discrimination in the Fire Department which have not been seen since the 1970\u2019s and 80\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abood is not fazed by the upcoming court battle, noting that his clients have an advantage now that the Ohio Civil Rights Commission has been so detailed in its research.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t speak highly enough about the investigation work the Civil Rights Commission has done in these cases,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Fletcher Word Sojourner\u2019s Truth Editor For the second time in a month, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission has ruled in favor of an African-American firefighter trainee who had been dismissed by the Toledo Fire Department. The Commission held that the dismissal was a result of unlawful discrimination. On July 2, 2020, the Commission, in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[26],"class_list":["post-606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cover_story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":809,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606\/revisions\/809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}