Former Cape firefighter sues city, charging 'disability discrimination' in his firing

A former Cape Girardeau firefighter has sued the city, contending the local government engaged in “disability discrimination” for firing him after he suffered a seizure.

The lawsuit was filed late last month in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court by attorney Andrew Tarry on behalf of his client, Ryan Rascher.

City attorney Eric Cunningham said city officials have yet to see the lawsuit.

“As far as I know, we haven’t been served yet,” he said.

According to the petition, Rascher was employed as a master firefighter for the city of Cape Girardeau from Feb. 5, 2007, to Oct. 22, 2015.

Rascher, who lives in the Dexter, Missouri, area, suffered a seizure while on duty with the fire department Feb. 17, 2015, according to the lawsuit. The city terminated his employment eight months later.

According to the lawsuit, Rascher sought “consistent” medical treatment “due to these occupational disease type injuries” before his termination.

The petition contends the city’s decision to fire Rascher was a “failure by the defendant to provide a reasonable accommodation for the plaintiff.”

The lawsuit alleges Rascher’s disability was a contributing factor in the city’s decision to fire him.

According to the lawsuit, Rascher initially filed a charge of discrimination with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, which ruled he had a right to sue the city.

The petition contends the city’s actions were unlawful.

According to the lawsuit, state law bars employers from discharging an employee because of a disability.

The city’s online handbook for firefighter applicants states firefighting involves “extremely hard and skillful physical exertion” and notes “without an elevated level of physical fitness, the firefighter would not be capable of meeting the demands of the job.”

According to the lawsuit, Rascher “has sustained lost wages and benefits of employment and is reasonably certain to sustain additional lost wages and benefits of employment in the future.”

Rascher has suffered “emotional distress, embarrassment, mental anguish and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life,” the petition states.

The lawsuit contends the city’s actions were “outrageous because of defendant’s evil motive or reckless indifference to the rights of others” and adds Rascher should be awarded punitive damages.

The suit seeks more than $25,000 for lost wages and benefits and other damages.

A case review is scheduled for April 10 before Circuit Judge Michael Gardner.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

44 N. Lorimier St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.