Lawsuit alleges sexual harassment by Greater Naples fire chief, district

A federal lawsuit alleges a former female Greater Naples Fire Rescue District officer was subjected to years of “repeated sexual harassment” and that the district and its fire chief refused to investigate her complaints and instead retaliated against her and eventually fired her.

The suit, filed by Andrea Schultz in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers in August, states the district and Fire Chief Kingman Schuldt “have a policy and practice of subjecting female employees to sexual harassment, far greater scrutiny and disparate discipline in a disproportionate manner towards women.” 
 
Schultz’s 24-page complaint alleges “unknown male officers” cut a hole in a bathroom stall to watch female officers, including Schultz, use the restroom.

Schultz’s complaint also alleges the district knew several male officers had put “inactive” cameras in the locker room where female officers changed “but took inadequate or insufficient steps to remedy such gross invasion of privacy and offensive conduct.”

Click here to read the complaint »
 
Schuldt was appointed fire chief for the East Naples Fire Control and Rescue District in 2012 and later became the fire chief for Greater Naples after East Naples and Golden Gate fire rescue districts merged.

When reached by phone Friday, Schuldt said he could not comment on the suit or its allegations, citing pending litigation. 
 
A 21-page answer to the complaint filed by the district’s attorney, Reynaldo Velazquez, in January denies all the allegations and asks for the suit to be thrown out.

Schultz “voluntarily resigned” and wasn't fired, the district's response states.

Click here to read the answer to the complaint »
 
The answer states all actions the district took against Schultz were “business related” and not retaliation.

In an emailed statement, Velazquez said Schuldt and the district "will continue to aggressively defend this case."
 
"Chief Schuldt and his administration treat all employees equally and with the upmost respect," Velazquez wrote. "That fact is demonstrated clearly when you consider Chief Schuldt has promoted women to the position of Deputy Chief, Deputy Director, and Captain."

Schultz was hired in 2005 and rose to the rank of captain but was subjected to “relentless slurs,” many directed at her “by her superiors and coworkers alike without consequence,” her complaint states.
 
District superiors “also falsely accused Schultz of sexual impropriety every time she was alone with any male firefighter or male officer,” the complaint states. 
 
The "male officer’s integrity was never called into question,” the complaint states.
 
The repeated sexual harassment culminated during several incidents in March and April 2014, according to the complaint.
 
While Schultz was conducting physical training related to the use of first aid by first responders, “male officers began sexually harassing her, which included intentionally grabbing her breasts, which was in no way part of the exercise,” the complaint states.
 
When Schultz was close to several male officers, they joked they were becoming aroused, the complaint continues.
 
But when Schultz alleged sexual harassment to her supervisors, the district “did nothing to investigate or stop” it, “despite there being video of at least some of the incidents,” according to the complaint.
 
“Specifically, Schuldt received the complaints but took no remedial steps,” the complaint states. “(H)e was aware of the slurs Schultz was being subjected to but took no steps to stop the sexual harassment.”
 
Instead, the complaint states, the district retaliated against Schultz and opened an investigation into her conduct. The investigation focusing on Schultz “was unwarranted since she had done nothing wrong whatsoever,” her complaint says.
 
On May 6, 2014, the district informed Schultz in writing that she was under investigation for five “vague, undefined ‘offenses,’ " her complaint states.
 
Schultz objected to the allegations and filed a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on June 13, 2014.
 
Ten days later, the district placed Schultz on administrative leave, which it “acknowledged was due to its receipt of Schultz’s Charge of Discrimination,” according to her complaint.
 
While Schultz was on administrative leave, she learned the district “had begun a campaign to malign and impugn (her) by trying to elicit statements from her coworkers that she was engaged in extramarital affairs,” her complaint states.
 
Schultz's complaint states she was “regularly” told by her male superiors that “women shouldn’t be in the fire service," was required to perform “grossly disproportionate amounts of work compared to similarly situated male officers” and subjected to other “disparate treatment.”
 
That “disparate treatment” included accusing Schultz of not being present at work, failing to provide her with her own work vehicle and refusing to pay for overtime hours she worked, according to the complaint.
 
“Schuldt was aware of all of these instances of disparate treatment based on gender and even participated in them rather than preventing them,” the complaint states.
 
The district also has an “unwritten policy of failing to hire and promote female officers and subjecting those female officers to far greater scrutiny than their male counterparts,” according to the complaint. 
 
Schultz was the only captain not promoted after the merger in 2013, despite being "objectively more qualified" with "higher degrees, greater experience and longer tenure," her complaint states.

She also was the only female captain, at the time, in the operations division, according to her complaint.
 
Schuldt said in a brief phone interview Friday that the district has about eight women among its 160 firefighters. Of the district’s 219 total employees, about 12 are female, he said. The district has 48 officers, including one female captain and two women on command staff, he said.
 
Schultz's complaint states the district “illegally refused to hire or promote qualified female applicants in favor of under-qualified male applicants and has targeted its female officers for unwarranted discipline.”
 
Schultz “was required to resign” Feb. 28, 2015, because of “‘offenses’ such as use of department assets for personal gain, more than de minimis use of department vehicle and inaccurate time card records that, when committed by male officers,” did not lead to terminations, according to her complaint.
 
Her complaint requests the district immediately stop retaliating against employees who try to assert their rights. It also asks for a trial by jury, back pay, front pay, attorney’s fees, reimbursement of all expenses and financial losses as a result of the district’s actions and compensatory damages.
 
Schultz also seeks punitive damages against Schuldt, who — the complaint alleges — engaged in “repeated and persistent acts of unwelcome and offensive gender discrimination and sexual harassment” and treated Schultz and other female employees “in a degrading, offensive, disparate and discriminatory manner.”
 
The deadline for mediation was set for Dec. 21. If mediation is unsuccessful, a trial could begin in May 2018.

Schultz’s attorney, Benjamin Yormak, said the “nature of the language” and “the severity and regularity” of harassment sets this case apart from others. He said he expects damages to be in the “hundreds of thousands” of dollars.
 
“This is pattern and practice that has been going on for a long time,” he said.
 
Yormak said although the fire service is certainly “no stranger to a locker room mentality,” there was “a line crossed” in Schultz’s case. Nobody, male or female, should be subjected to that kind of conduct, Yormak said.
 
“Nothing was done for years,” he said. “That, to me, is the most striking about this case.”