By Christian Schiavone
The Patriot Ledger
WEYMOUTH, Mass. — Town officials plan to appeal a ruling requiring the fire department to reinstate a former firefighter who said she was pressured to resign.
Mayor Susan Kay said the town will appeal the state Civil Service Commission’s ruling that the town shouldn’t have accepted Firefighter Cynthia Champion’s resignation in 2011 because it was clear she was not able to understand the consequences of her actions.
Champion, who was hired by the department in 1995, reported that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 and said that she resigned because of stress and exhaustion caused by her treatment and perceived harassment by the department, according to the ruling, which was released last week. She later asked that her resignation be rescinded and then retracted that request before finally appealing to Civil Service.
After being treated for cancer, her behavior became erratic and she was diagnosed as being “mentally incapable” of doing her job two weeks before she resigned, according to the ruling.
“There is something seriously wrong and unsettling with the series of events that has unfolded here,” commission Chairman Christopher Bowman wrote in the ruling. "(The town’s) response was to deem a bizarre and nonsensical letter of resignation as “voluntary,” resulting in the termination of pay and benefits at a time when those benefits were most critical.”
But Kay said the town is sticking by its position that Champion voluntarily resigned and will appeal the ruling in Norfolk Superior Court.
“We are of the opinion that we should appeal,” Kay said. “We feel we’re on good grounds.”
She declined to comment further because the matter is ongoing.
Champion went on sick leave in November 2009. In June 2010, Fire Chief Robert Leary filed disability retirement papers on her behalf, but then asked the town’s retirement board to hold off on processing them. Five months later, he filed non-disability retirement papers on her behalf saying that she hadn’t provided documentation to support her claim that she had cancer.
While the retirement was still pending, Champion submitted a three-sentence letter of resignation in March 2011, which Leary accepted. The following month, she asked that her resignation be rescinded and said it was brought on by stress from her illness and “hostile” treatment from the town, but retracted that request a day later. She appealed to the Civil Service Commission three weeks later.
Champion could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Firefighters union President Rick Ramponi said the union is supporting Champion.
“We want her to be re-instated immediately and made whole, which would include back pay and giving her her health insurance back,” Ramponi said. “The town should have some compassion due to the circumstances.”
Copyright 2012 The Patriot Ledger