Former Marietta firefighter sues for gender discrimination

MARIETTA — The city of Marietta and the Marietta Fire Department are defendants in a federal lawsuit filed last January by a former firefighter who says she was discriminated against by former Fire Chief Jackie Gibbs and others because of her gender.

Gibbs retired in December after 40 years with the city. He was the city’s longest-serving employee when he left the department.

According to documents obtained by the MDJ through an open records request, the former firefighter, Meg Richardson, says Gibbs and others in the fire department violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and threatened reprisal when she brought up her allegations.

“Since Jackie Gibbs became chief in 1999, the environment in the Marietta Fire Department has changed dramatically to one of pervasive bullying, bigotry and favoritism,” Richardson wrote in a 2014 complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

In her complaint and in hundreds of pages of deposition, Richardson describes a “good old boy” culture in the Marietta Fire Department that favors white men over women and over minorities.

In one incident, a male firefighter took a female firefighter’s underwear that had been left in the dryer, drew blood stains on them in marker, and put them in a public place, according to the documents.

Another former firefighter alleged that, in a staff meeting, Gibbs referred to female firefighters by a vulgar fourletter word, according to court documents.

Richardson joined the Marietta Fire Department in 1997 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2007.

Richardson said her supervisor Tommy Bishop routinely behaved in sexist ways, remarking that women should not be serving as firefighters, hitting her, mocking her and giving her inappropriate gifts.

Richardson said Bishop dismissed her complaints, so she went to Gibbs. According to her, Gibbs also dismissed her complaints, called her a liar, and said there would be “severe consequences” if she had any more “hysterical outbursts.”

Richardson said she and other women were consistently denied opportunities for advancement within the department despite their accomplishments and seniority due to gender discrimination.

Ross Williams, Marietta Daily Journal