Lincolnwood Fire Chief, Deputies Named In Sex Harassment Lawsuit

LINCOLNWOOD, IL — Three senior members of the Lincolnwood Fire Department have been named in a federal sex discrimination lawsuit filed by a former firefighter who claims he was fired for blowing the whistle on a supervisor's drug abuse at work and the pervasive sexual harassment of the department's only female employee.

Lincolnwood outsources its fire and emergency medical services to the Schiller Park-based firm Paramedic Services of Illinois, or PSI, which has a contract with the village. The three men named in the court filings, Fire Department Chief Michael Hansen, Deputy Chief Ray White and Battalion Chief James Barnett, are all employees of the outside firm.

Joshua Weller, who is suing PSI, began working for the firm in October 2010, according to his suit. It said he had six years of positive reviews and regular raises until he was transferred to Lincolnwood in December 2015.

According to Weller's suit, White would regularly make vulgar jokes and use misogynistic slurs to describe the one woman on the shift. Barnett, it said, would "brazenly" talk to their fellow firefighter about her breasts. And Hansen told the woman during the interview process that he feared she would have sex with a colleague, telling her told not to seduce anyone on the job, according to the complaint.

Weller said he was subjected to retaliation, harassment and defamation after he sought to stop his co-workers and supervisors continuing a pattern of pervasive sexist abuse toward and about the woman. According to his suit, other members of the department started false rumors he was in a relationship with the woman and sent him pornographic images via text message. He said they mocked him as her "guard dog" or as "[female firefighter] with a penis." And after Weller complained, the behavior at the Lincolnwood Fire Department got worse, leading to his termination in July 2016, according to the suit.

Weller's suit also contains allegations that senior staff at the department turned a blind eye to dangerous drug abuse by a lieutenant. Barnett, the battalion chief, was aware of concerns the lieutenant was abusing opiates on duty after returning from leave for back surgery.

In one incident described in the suit as taking place three days before Weller was fired, the lieutenant began to nod off while initiating care to a 7-year-old girl before getting into the driver's seat to drive the girl to the hospital. It said Weller photographed the lieutenant's Norco and Xanax pill bottles and sent them to the EMS coordinator.

According to his complaint, Weller was told that he was terminated for sending the images, even though his supervisors had asked him to document the lieutenant's on-duty drug use.

Senior village and department officials have declined to comment on the suit, pending the ongoing litigation, and the woman who was the focus of the harassment allegations no longer works for PSI, Pioneer Press reported.

In March, Judge Charles Kocoras dismissed one count of the nine-count suit naming the village of Lincolnwood, while denying a motion by PSI to dismiss the claims against it and allowing the case to proceed.

The firm's lawyers are also seeking to block Weller's attempt to hold Hansen, White and Barnett personally liable for defamation. They argue the allegations of false statements do not rise to the level of defamation, and even if they did, the statute of limitations has expired.

Weller's attorneys contend information revealed during the discovery process, including a written answer from PSI in June and depositions at the village of Lincolnwood in September, provided new details Weller could not previously have known and offered "further evidence of [his] allegations that he was retaliated against," they wrote in their Oct. 4 motion to amend the complaint. A ruling on that motion is due Nov. 15.