A jury will soon begin deliberating the case of a Los Angeles County fire captain who maintains he was subjected to retaliation after he criticized a supervisor for allegedly violating the county’s policy of equity in giving preferential treatment to a female firefighter recruit at the department’s 148th training academy.
Capt. Michael Cash maintains in his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that management wrongfully removed him from his position of training captain as punishment for speaking out against the allegedly discriminatory actions of Battalion Chief Patrick Errett.
“Not showing remorse about his gender-based preferences, Chief Errett doubled-down on his discrimination, saying that he did not care if the department had to pay out legal settlement money because he was violating the law,” Cash’s attorney, Steven H. Haney, states in his court papers.
Cash was hired as a firefighter in 1999 and became a captain in 2013. Errett is the director of training in charge of the academy. The suit alleges that female recruit Alexis Miller was hurt during the 147th academy and failed a ladder test in the 148th academy, telling those around her, “I just didn’t get it done,” according to Haney’s court papers.
However, Errett gave Miller a “charity pass” that he justified by saying the department was considering changing, in the future, the 24-foot, one-person ladder evolution, according to Haney’s court papers, which further state that the exercise reflects real world skills which firefighters often face.
None of the training captains agreed with Errett’s decision to pass Miller, according to Haney’s court papers
Cash told Errett that his decision to pass Miller was unfair because male firefighters had failed the academy the same day and the department did not bend the rules for them in order to pass, Haney states in his court papers. Cash also told Errett that his decision undermined the previous accomplishments of female recruits in general, according to Haney’s court papers.
Cash had been selected as captain of the 151st training academy, a highly coveted position that provides prestige, benefits for future promotions, a higher likelihood of working overtime, and permits more evenings and weekends off, according to Haney’s court papers. However, Cash was told by another captain in February 2018 that he no longer had the job, Haney’s court papers state.
To replace Cash, the department selected an unqualified person who did not even meet minimum eligibility requirements and Errett refused to tell Cash why he was removed, according to Haney’s court papers.
To protect Errett, the department gave the excuse that Cash was removed because he had written articles for a firefighters nonprofit magazine, Straight Streams, which the department deemed “sarcastic” and therefore disqualified him from the position, Haney states in his court papers.
When Chief Deputy David Richardson was asked in a deposition what he found objectionable about Cash’s articles, Richardson said it was his use of the words fireman, instead of firefighter, and brotherhood, which he believed expressed too much masculinity, according to Haney’s court papers.
Testimony in the trial began May 17 with Cash as the opening witness.