Firefighter awarded $285,000

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Kansas City firefighter has been awarded $285,000 after she sued the department for failing to provide bathrooms and protective clothing that fit.

Battalion Chief Anne Wedow also faced retaliation from the Kansas City Fire Department when she was denied extra duty that would have helped advance her career, a federal jury found on Friday.

The city, however, was not found liable on several other allegations, including denying Wedow promotions.

"I think it's almost criminal that we have to go through all this court stuff just to get a simple thing," said Wedow, a 25-year veteran of the department, after hearing the verdict.

The city on Friday was deciding whether to appeal, said Douglas McMillan, assistant city attorney.

Wedow's lawsuit, along with a similar one filed by Battalion Chief Kathleen Kline, had asked U.S. District Judge Ortrie Smith to order the city to provide protective gear and bathrooms for female firefighters.

Smith could take action, now that Wedow's case has been tried. Kline won a $50,000 verdict on similar issues last year.

Upgrades made

Fire Chief Smokey Dyer outlined the efforts made to improve conditions for women in a written response to the verdict issued Friday. Since late 2000, he said, all women firefighters have been offered or given gear appropriate for females.

Also, he said, seven of 34 fire stations now have women's bathrooms and sleeping quarters, and there are plans to upgrade the other stations.

But Wedow said the department has been slow to act after she first alerted them to the dangers of wearing ill-fitting men's protective clothing in 1993. The lack of women's bathrooms had been a source of complaints for several years, she said.

"They talk about it and talk about it," she said, "but nothing gets done."

This is Wedow and Kline's second sex discrimination lawsuit against the city. In a 1994 suit, jurors heard testimony about strippers performing at fire stations, female employees being fondled, and male firefighters watching X-rated videos while on duty.

In early 1998, Smith found sexual discrimination was common in the department and ordered sensitivity training.