Jury Trial Date Set in Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Discrimination LawsuitLawsuit Claims Pilot Was Unfairly Disciplined, Physically Threatened, and Verbally Harassed For Years After Filing Complaint With The Florida Commission on Human Relations
By: Law Offices of Pelayo Duran and Roderick Hannah MIAMI - May 29, 2013 - PRLog -- MIAMI - Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Peter Lopez has set an October 2013 date for jury trial in the discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue helicopter pilot Steven VanDesande against the department (Case #09-30967 CA 10). The plaintiff, who is represented by employment litigation attorneys Roderick Hannah and Pelayo Duran, said in the complaint, which has been amended and supplemented three times to add ongoing acts of retaliation, that VanDesande’s superiors unfairly disciplined and harassed him in retaliation for filling internal complaints objecting to discriminatory conduct, and then continued to retaliate against him after he filed his lawsuit and even after he attended a private mediation to try to settle his lawsuit.
“In this case the Florida Commission on Human Relations, the agency designated to receive and investigate complaints of discrimination and retaliation, found on three separate occasions reasonable cause that unlawful retaliation had occurred against Mr. VanDesande,” VanDesande was hired as a firefighter in 2001 and later promoted to pilot. According to the lawsuit, VanDesande first filed internal complaints against co-workers and supervisory personnel claiming he was experiencing ongoing and humiliating retaliation for reporting a demeaning incident in 2004. VanDesande claims he then filed a formal complaint with the Florida Commission claiming discrimination and retaliation. From that point on, the claimed acts of retaliation snowballed. The acts of retaliation that VanDesande claims in his lawsuit occurred include being unjustifiably relieved of duty as a pilot for a year; being transferred to work in an undesirable manual labor position in a remote warehouse; being denied past due and overtime compensation; On one recent occasion, according to the suit, VanDesande was subjected to repeated acts of indecent exposure in the dorm area when his supervisor “aggressively” The lawsuit also claims that the retaliation continued even after VanDesande attended mediation in August 2011 with his attorney to try to settle the suit. According to the suit, when the mediation proved unsuccessful, VanDesande was, among other things, falsely accused of being psychologically unfit for duty; was falsely accused and investigated for workers’ compensation fraud and outside employment violations; and was even unfairly disciplined by Barreto for refusing on one occasion to shake Barreto’s hand. The alleged retaliation also included VanDesande and his family being harassed at their home by the department’s employees to the point where VanDesande had to call the police to stop the unlawful trespassing. “This is one of the most egregious cases of discrimination I have ever handled,” said Duran. “What is most shocking and sad is that this is all happening within a government agency and to a fire rescue pilot who is willing to put his life on the line for us. Our client even received the highly coveted unit citation medal for superior lifesaving rescue operations. In addition to seeking an injunction against the department to stop the continuing retaliation, the lawsuit seeks lost back pay, lost, benefits, damages for emotional distress, humiliation, and loss of dignity, and attorneys’ fees. Located in Miami, The Law Offices of Pelayo Duran represents clients in bankruptcy and finance, employment, criminal, traffic and personal injury matters. For more information please visit www.pelayoduran.com or call 305-266-9780. The Law Offices of Roderick Hannah is located in Hollywood, Fla. and represents both plaintiffs and defendants in matters of employment law. The firm’s litigation practice handles a range of civil and business issues. For more information please visit www.rhannahlaw.com or call 954-362-3800. End
Account Email Address Account Phone Number Disclaimer Report Abuse
|