Ex-Lincolnwood Firefighter Settles Whistleblower, Harassment Suit

LINCOLNWOOD, IL — A lawsuit from a former firefighter accusing senior members of the Lincolnwood Fire Department of sex discrimination and defamation was settled last week for undisclosed terms. The ex-employee's federal lawsuit claimed he had been fired for reporting a supervisor's on-duty drug abuse and vulgar sexual harassment targeting the department's only female employee.

The village outsources the management of its fire and emergency medical services to the Paramedic Services of Illinois, or PSI, a Schiller Park based firm. The company and its employees including Fire Department Chief Michael Hansen, Deputy Chief Ray White and Battalion Chief James Barnett were all named in the suit.

Former firefighter Joshua Weller started working at PSI in October 2010, according to his suit. He received regular raises and positive performance reviews prior to being transferred to Lincolnwood in December 2015. He was terminated in July 2016 and filed suit in August 2017. Judge Charles Kocoras dismissed the count of Weller's suit that named the village of Lincolnwood but allowed claims against PSI and its employees to proceed in March 2018.

Weller's suit described a culture rife with vulgar and sexist behavior at the department. It said he was targeted for harassment in numerous instances because he tried to stop his bosses and fellow firefighters to stop the pervasive sexist abuse targeting the one woman who worked at the department. The suit also claimed senior members of the department ignored concerns of drug abuse by a lieutenant.

According to the complaint, the lieutenant was regularly using unsafe levels of prescription opiates on duty. Weller said he was told to document the lieutenant's drug use but filed a few days after he photographed his co-worker's Norco and Xanax pill bottles after the lieutenant nodded off while initiating medical care to a 7-year-old girl before getting into the driver's seat of an ambulance to take her to a hospital.

The Lincolnwood Fire Department has been managed by PSI since 1990. It is the only Illinois municipality that contracts out its firefighter staffing to a private company.

With a population of about 12,500 people, Lincolnwood has its own police department with 39 full-time employees and an $8.36 million budget, but it outsources its fire, paramedic and emergency communication services.

All 911 services are handled by Skokie and a six-year contract with PSI for fire services expires on April 30, 2022. The annual cost of the contract with PSI increased 2 percent in Fiscal Year 2019 to nearly $2.9 million of a $3.4 million fire department budget, according to the village.

When fire department personnel unionized in 2014, village administrators said contracting with PSI was a more cost-effective means to provide fire and paramedic services compared to what surrounding communities have paid.

Representatives of the firefighter and the private company contracted to run to the village's fire department agreed to dismiss the case Dec. 7 before it was terminated Dec. 12.

The terms of of the settlement agreement are confidential, attorneys representing PSI and Weller told the Lincolnwood Review.

Having agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice, both parties will be responsible for their own attorney's fees and the matter cannot return before a court.

Patch has requested a copy of the agreement, since companies functioning as agents of public bodies, such as PSI in this case, are subject to public records requests.

Read more: Lincolnwood Fire Chief, Deputies Named In Sex Harassment Lawsuit