Kansas City agreed to pay a $1.3 million settlement to a 61-year-old lesbian firefighter who says she faced abuse for years because of her gender, sex and age.
It’s the city’s largest payout for a suit against the Kansas City Fire Department.
Rebecca Reynolds, 61, says she experienced sex and age discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment while she worked for the fire department. As part of the settlement, Reynolds agreed to drop two pending discrimination lawsuits against the city.
She also agreed to not pursue a third lawsuit accusing a coworker of allegedly urinating on things in her office while she was out on medical leave. Firefighter Pleaze Robinson III was charged with a felony in April in connection with that incident last year.
A report issued last year found the department has made little progress in addressing its systemic problems with sexism and racism.
Reynolds began working at the KCFD in 2003, after she graduated from the fire academy at 40. She works as a medic and firefighter.
Reynolds, in her lawsuit, said superiors in the department screamed at her. They told her she was “not normal” because of her sexual orientation. She says was subjected to demeaning and humiliating conduct because of her sexual orientation, gender and age.
In one incident from March 2023, Reynolds said a coworker tripped her, which caused an injury that required knee surgery. A few days later, Reynolds responded to a medical emergency at the Kansas City International Airport alongside the same coworker.
Reynolds alleges the coworker placed his hands on her and prevented her from engaging with the patient.
Following the incident at the airport, Reynolds met with the KCFD Battalion Chief and Captain. She was told she was an “ongoing concern” for the station, according to the lawsuit. Reynolds was not given opportunity to respond to the accusation.
According to the lawsuit, when she asked why she was being harassed, the Battalion Chief said it was because she “sat down to pee” and because she was “beat by the race card,” referring to her African American coworker.
Reynolds filed a worker’s compensation claim after the knee injury. The lawsuit states Reynolds continues to suffer from retaliatory actions, discrimination and a hostile work environment. She claims she is not paid the proper rate for a paramedic.
Her settlement is the latest, and largest, in a string of payments the city has made for claims concerning the Kansas City Fire Department. Last year, the city paid $800,000 to a former firefighter who said she was subjected to years of harassment before resigning.
In January 2023, Kansas City agreed to pay $458,893 to each of the families of the three people killed in a Westport crash involving a speeding fire truck.
