A Los Angeles County firefighter is suing his employer, claiming he faced retaliation after reporting harassment by a colleague who allegedly made homophobic remarks and mocked his serious medical issues.
Guilherme Guimaraes' Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges harassment, discrimination and failure to prevent discrimination and retaliation. He seeks unspecifed damages.
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A county Fire Department representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Thursday.
In August 2017, Guimaraes was exposed to toxic smoke and benzene while on duty, leaving him with a form of anemia that required him to undergo blood and platelet transfusions, chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, according to the suit, which further states he took 20 months of medical leave to battle the illness.
In February 2021, a new firefighter joined Guimaraes' station with an overt hostility to gay people, including the station captain and another firefighter, the suit states. The new firefighter said it was unfair to him to have to tolerate laws he believed were unfavorable to him as a heterosexual man, according to the suit.
"These comments struck a personal chord with plaintiff, who has a relative who is gay, making him feel particularly uncomfortable and unwelcome in the station," the suit states.
The next month, the new firefighter told Guimaraes to vacate his locker and tore down photos of the plaintiff's children that were posted inside of it, the suit alleges.
Guimaraes reported what happened to the station captain, who told the plaintiff to "handle it personally," but did not take any action against the new firefighter, the suit alleges. The new firefighter additionally ridiculed the plaintiff's medical problems, questioned him about their legitimacy and mocked him for taking medical leave, according to the suit.
Although an internal county department upheld harassment allegations against the new firefighter, his behavior did not change and the hostile environment he created persisted, the suit states. Guimaraes believes his temporary transfer to another station was in retaliation for speaking out against the other firefighter by filing a complaint with the station captain, according to the suit.
In May, Guimaraes found a strap-on device resembling a man's private parts in his locker, the suit additionally states. But once more, nothing was ultimately done to punish the other firefighter, the suit states.
Guimaraes was transferred again in September and believes it was another form of retaliation for speaking out against his alleged harasser, the suit states. While gathering his items in preparation for the move, Guimaraes found a toy rat in his gear bag, which reminded the plaintiff that the other firefighter had called him a "rat," the suit states.
Guimaraes took a stress leave in frustration for the department's alleged ongoing unwillingness to properly address the other firefighter's behavior, according to the complaint.
Guimaraes, who continues to suffer lost overtime pay and other earnings as well as emotional distress and reputation damage, will now have to take a different retirement path, the suit states.
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