Sex Harassment, Drug Use Suit Settled For $33K By Lincolnwood FD

LINCOLNWOOD, IL — More than 18 months after the private company contracted to serve as Lincolnwood's fire department settled a lawsuit with a former firefighter alleging he faced retaliation for blowing the whistle on sexual harassment and on-duty narcotics use, the Illinois Attorney General's Office this week determined the settlement agreement is a public record.

The determination from the office's Public Access Counselor, despite being non-binding, affirms that Illinois governments cannot escape its transparency obligations under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act by outsourcing essential government functions to private contactors.

Patch has since December 2018 sought copies of the agreement between Schiller Park-based Paramedic Services of Illinois — the company to which the village has outsourced fire protection and emergency medical services — and former firefighter Josh Weller.

Attorneys for Lincolnwood initially refused to provide a copy, suggesting the records were not created by or for the village. The Illinois Supreme Court has determined that records of village contractors that are "directly related" to a "governmental function" are public, but village attorneys argued settlements made with employees of the contractor do not relate directly enough.

"It relates to claims between a contractor and its former employee, and not the contractor's transaction of business with the Village," said village attorney Ben Schuster, who also pointed to the confidentiality clause in the settlement.

But Assistant Attorney General Shannon Barnaby said fire protection and paramedic services certainly qualify as village functions, and the settlement agreement itself is directly related to the function Paramedic Services of Illinois, or PSI, was contracted to provide.

"In the underlying lawsuit, PSI's former employee alleged PSI's administration of the Village's fire department involved widespread sexual harassment of a female employee, retaliation against a whistleblower, and 'ongoing abuse of prescription drugs by a superior officer while on duty that put the health and safety of patients, coworkers and the public at risk,'" Barnaby said Monday in a determination letter.

"Regardless of whether those allegations have any merit, the settlement of the employment dispute directly relates to PSI's working environment for the governmental function of providing fire protection and emergency medical services for the Village," she added. "If the work environment was hostile and unsafe, as alleged, such circumstances could clearly affect the quality of the services PSI was providing to the Village."

Earlier:
Ex-Lincolnwood Firefighter Settles Federal Whistleblower, Harassment Lawsuit
Former Firefighter Alleges Pervasive Sexual Harassment, On-Duty Drug Abuse

Schuster provided a copy of the settlement agreement Thursday, resolving Patch's December 2018 FOIA request.

The agreement shows the company functioning as the Lincolnwood Fire Department paid $33,000 to get Weller to dismiss his amended complaint against PSI, Lincolnwood Fire Chief Mike Hansen and former Deputy Chief Ray White, which alleged violations of the Illinois Whistleblower Act, the Illinois Human Rights Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and retaliatory discharge.

Nearly $11,500 of that payment went to Weller's attorney, Daniel Zemans, according to the agreement.

In March 2018, U.S. District Judge Charles Kocoras dismissed two of the nine counts of Weller's amended complaint, but the judge allowed the others to proceed.

Shortly before the November 2018 settlement, Weller had been set to amend his complaint for a second time to incorporate information obtained during discovery and a related investigation, according to court records.

"[Weller] is now prepared to name three individuals, all senior employees of PSI at the time the comments were made, who he alleges defamed him," Zemans said in a motion. "Additionally, the defamatory comments are further evidence of Mr. Weller’s allegations that he was retaliated against, which is related to four counts in his First Amended Complaint."

According to a discrimination complaint Weller filed in 2017 with the Illinois Department of Human Rights, his co-workers spread knowingly false rumors that he was having an affair with the lone female firefighter on shift after he spoke out about discrimination and harassment against her.

"Among the more egregious comments were those asking me whether I had gotten [my female coworker] pregnant yet; asking me to bring in videos of me and [her] having sex, and, while on duty and in violation of the supposed cell phone policy, texting pornographic images to me and asking if the images depicted the type of sexual activity [my coworker] and I engaged in," Weller said. "To be clear, this was not just coworkers; supervisors were engaging in this behavior."

According to Weller, a battalion chief suggested he ask his female colleague "if she wants to have a threesome," and the deputy chief repeatedly and falsely claimed Weller had sex in the parking lot.

"False rumors got back to my fiancé, causing problems in our relationship and inflicting substantial emotional damage on me," he said.

Within weeks of emailing and meeting to discuss the ongoing harassment with Hansen, Weller's employment was terminated, he said.

Hansen — who remains chief of the Lincolnwood Fire Department and vice president of PSI — did not immediately respond to questions about what steps, if any, he has taken to prevent harassment, discrimination or retaliation at the department and how many subsequent sexual harassment complaints, if any, the department has received since settling Weller's lawsuit.

According to the terms of the settlement, which includes no admissions of wrongdoing by any party, Weller may not engage in any conduct "in any way deemed to be disparaging of PSI, Hansen or White," nor may PSI officials disparage Weller, so "that the Parties shall refer to each other solely in neutral or amicable terms."