DOJ Sues Harrison Fire Dept. For Discrimination/Sexual Harrassment

HARRISON, NY — The feds are taking legal action against the Town of Harrison and the Harrison Fire Department.

The U.S. has filed a lawsuit against the Town/Village of Harrison, the Fire District Two of Harrison and the Harrison Volunteer Fire Department No. 1 of Harrison, alleging discrimination on the basis of sex and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, announced on Wednesday.

The lawsuit alleges that Harrison and the Harrison Fire Department unlawfully discriminated against a female firefighter by creating a hostile work environment and terminating her employment after she reported that a male senior firefighter had harassed and stalked her.

“Sexual harassment in the workplace is abhorrent. All employers, including government agencies, must ensure that sexual harassment is prohibited—not ignored or followed by illegal employment actions against victims, as we allege occurred at the Town of Harrison," Williams said in a statement released today. "This suit seeks to remedy the civil rights violations committed by the Harrison Fire Department and the Town of Harrison, and ensure that Harrison protects its employees’ rights in the future.”

According to the complaint filed in White Plains federal court, Angela Bommarito joined the Harrison Fire Department in 2015. During her first month of employment, a senior firefighter, Henry Mohr, pressured Bommarito with unwanted sexual advances and later also harassed and stalked Bommarito, including repeatedly following her and calling her several times, according to the lawsuit. Mohr also allegedly used sexually demeaning expletives to describe Bommarito in front of her colleagues.

The complaint said that leaders at Harrison and the Harrison Fire Department knew of Mohr's harassment, including through reports from Bommarito. After officials allegedly failed to take any employment action against Mohr and the harassment persisted, Bommarito filed a report with the Harrison Police Department. According to the DOJ, Harrison's then-Police Chief told Mohr, in a recorded conversation, that Bommarito's presence at the firehouse was a "temptation," which was "hard to resist sometimes," and that he "want[ed] to broker a deal with the Town to make sure this whole thing dies" and get Mohr "out of this situation." Bommarito then signed a resignation letter prepared by the Police Chief after he allegedly threatened to arrest her and report her other relationships to Harrison's Fire Commissioners. Bommarito attempted to withdraw the resignation shortly after, but the Harrison Fire Department proceeded with the termination of her employment.

After Bommarito left the Harrison Fire Department, Mohr's harassment and stalking allegedly continued. Mohr was eventually arrested and pled guilt to harassment in the second degree. A family court judge also entered an order of protection against Mohr.

According to the Department of Justice, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 authorizes the DOJ to take action in the United States District Court against Harrison and the Harrison Fire Department to remedy discrimination on the basis of sex and retaliation in violation of Title VII. The U.S.'s complaint seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as compensatory damages for Bommarito.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles S. Jacob and Natasha W. Teleanu in charge of the case.