By Robert Moran
The Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA — A white Philadelphia firefighter who settled a racial-discrimination case against the city last year filed another federal lawsuit yesterday, saying the fire commissioner and his top aides had retaliated against him for going to court.
Capt. Joseph Lee Jr. was among five white firefighters who settled their 2007 civil-rights suit, which focused on alleged bias in promotions, against the city last January. As part of the settlement, the city pledged to make changes to the promotion process and to refrain from retaliation against the plaintiffs.
Lee “has been retaliated against because he is a white employee who filed a race discrimination civil action,” according to the new lawsuit.
The complaint contains previously undisclosed material gathered in the first lawsuit that alleges a hostile work environment for whites in the department, whose commissioner and top administrators are African American.
In one example, the suit highlights an article written by Commissioner Lloyd Ayers for Club Valiants Inc., a black firefighters’ group, that discusses his thoughts on the “System of White supremacy” in the Fire Department, which the article says is designed to keep minorities, particularly blacks, “in an unaware, apathetic, uneducated, politically powerless, degraded state.”
A spokesman for Mayor Nutter said he was unable to immediately comment on the lawsuit.
Executive Fire Chief Daniel A. Williams said the department would not comment on the suit.
An attorney for Lee declined to comment.
The complaint says that Lee received an “unprecedented” punishment of suspension without pay for 160 hours for writing an e-mail to the Old City Civic Association in November 2008 protesting Nutter’s proposed closing of an engine company based in Old City, where he was assigned as captain.
The suit notes that the firefighters union held public rallies attended by firefighters to protest Nutter’s proposed elimination of several engine and ladder companies for budget reasons.
After Lee settled his first lawsuit, he was notified that he would be charged with a series of violations, including publicly criticizing the official actions of a superior officer, according to the new complaint.
Lee waived his right to a trial board and agreed to be punished directly by Ayers, believing the disposition “would be reasonable and fair,” according to the complaint.
The suit seeks, among other things, unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
The city settled the first lawsuit for $275,000 and agreed to develop some new procedures and guidelines regarding racial factors in the promotion process.
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