Topeka Fire Department is a 'good ole boys club,' says discrimination suit against city
The Topeka Fire Department is a "good ole boys club" where many have been heard to say that female firefighters shouldn't expect to be promoted above the position of shift commander, Barbara Hack says.
"Police Chief Randall Phillips has a reputation for perpetuating the 'good ole boys club,'" said Hack, a retired Topeka Fire Department captain, in a federal discrimination lawsuit she filed Sept. 14 against Topeka's city government.
Brently Dorsey, a Black man, then filed a separate federal discrimination suit Monday against the city, saying it has shown a pattern of treating Black employees less favorably and promoting them less often than white employees.
Dorsey additionally alleged that the fire department, after he was diagnosed with leukemia, denied him promotions in an effort to force him out "due to his race and/or his medical condition."
What does the city say?
Topeka's city government hasn't been served with paperwork in any lawsuits by Dorsey or Hack but is aware of the allegations both are making, said Gretchen Spiker, the city's communications director, on Tuesday.
"The city takes claims of this nature very seriously and has full faith that the justice system will resolve this issue," she said. "Because the matter involves pending litigation, and in order to not prejudice the process, the city has no further comments."
Topeka's mayor and council voted in May to pay $200,000 to settle claims of racial discrimination and retaliation by Ron Rutherford, a fire department battalion chief who is Black.
Greg Bailey, a Black man who would later become Topeka's fire chief, sued the city in March 2002 alleging he was discriminated against when he wasn't promoted to chief of administration the previous year.
That case was dismissed in December 2002, court records show. The suit was "resolved," Bailey told The Capital-Journal, without elaborating, when he became fire chief in 2012.
What else do Brently Dorsey and Barbara Hack say?
The lawsuits by Dorsey and Hack, both retired Topeka Fire Department captains, contend they applied for promotions to jobs that were instead awarded to less-qualified white men with less experience.
Dorsey served with the Topeka Fire Department from 1994 to 2022 and held the rank of captain for the last seven of those years, his lawsuit complaint said.
Hack was employed 24 years by the Topeka Fire Department, her complaint said.
"After not receiving a promotion to an administrative position, Plaintiff was forced out of the Topeka Fire Department on April 1, 2023," it said.
Dorsey and Hack demanded jury trials. Hack called for hers to be held in Kansas City, Kan.
Hack is represented by the Topeka-based law firm of Stevens & Brand LLP, her lawsuit complaint said.
Dorsey is represented by Kansas City, Mo.-based Edelman, Liesen & Myers, LLP.
Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Ex-firefighters, a woman and Black man, sue Topeka for discrimination
