Woman sues Kansas City area fire department, accusing supervisor of sexual harassment
A former nurse for a Jackson County fire department alleges in a lawsuit that she was forced to resign after a supervisor sexually harassed her, creating a hostile work environment.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Jackson County Circuit Court in Independence against the Southern Jackson County Fire Protection District, which is headquartered in Lake Lotawana and has stations in Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs.
The suit was brought by Christeena Ferguson of Fort Smith, Arkansas, who started working for the fire department as a pre-hospital registered nurse in April 2022.
She seeks an unspecified amount in damages, including back pay, because she said the alleged sexual harassment discriminated against her and created a hostile work environment that forced her to quit.
Fire Chief Bill Large was out of the office Friday and was not immediately available for comment on the lawsuit. The fire protection district was formed after voters approved the consolidation of the Prairie Township and Lake Lotawana fire protection districts in 2020.
According to the lawsuit, Ferguson was sitting next to a coworker at a dining room table on the morning of June 14, 2022, at Station 1, located at 11010 Milton Thompson Road in Lee’s Summit.
The coworker, whose name was redacted in the public version of the lawsuit, was an engineer at the time, but later was named a captain. He also had served as acting chief prior to being promoted to captain, according to the suit.
Ferguson mentioned to the coworker that she had been in a wedding of someone they both knew. The coworker then showed her his phone, which had “disgusting, proactive pictures” of the person they both knew, according to the suit.
It was “very inappropriate” and she felt uncomfortable and immediately looked away, the suit said.
Ferguson’s coworker said to “keep this between us.” She was uncomfortable because “she didn’t understand why a leader would be showing her inappropriate pictures” of her friend, the suit said.
On June 16, 2022, the coworker sent her a short Instagram video that had sexual content, the suit contends.
Two days later, he invited her to go see a band with some of his friends as a crew member outing. Ferguson contends she told him on Snapchat that she didn’t want “any funny business happening, no flirting, nothing sexual.”
The coworker agreed and nothing happened at the outing.
A few days later, crews were at the boat dock at Lake Lotawana, taking turns going out on the boat. While waiting, the coworker sent Ferguson a Snapchat that said, “is it bad I want to see (redacted) naked.”
The following day, the coworker asked about Ferguson’s ex-boyfriend and whether they would be getting back together. She responded that she didn’t know, according to the suit. A few minutes later, he asked if she wanted to come over in the morning after shift for a beer. She declined.
The lawsuit contends that he asked her out on other occasions too. On one occasion, she made it clear that if she went out, it would be just coworkers going out, nothing sexual. She then told him she couldn’t go out because she had other plans.
Shortly thereafter, the coworker messaged her, “Lol ok. Well I’m in bed . . . naked Lol. I’m going to take a nap,” according to the suit.
On July 22, 2022, she messaged her coworker saying the shift was rough. He agreed and asked her if she was home yet. When she replied she wasn’t, he asked if she wanted to stop by his apartment to debrief about the shift.
While there, they talked about the shift. As she was getting ready to leave, the coworker got up and said, “Yeah, you have two choices, get in bed or leave,” the suit contends.
She got up and said, “Oh wow, nope,” and left. Ferguson felt “extremely uncomfortable and wanted to leave as soon as possible” the suit said.
About five minutes later, her coworker sent her a message asking, “Can I tell you something inappropriate?”
She replied, “NO!”
Later that month, her coworker put his hand on her back and kept it there while they were in the back of the ambulance, according to the suit.
On July 27, 2022, the coworker messaged her asking if she wanted to come over. She told him no, that she was working and then told him the comment he made when she went over to debrief after a shift was not funny and made her feel uncomfortable. She told him they were friends and nothing more, according to the suit.
He replied that he didn’t mean it in a sexual manner, according to the suit.
Ferguson started to analyze their previous interactions and became even more uncomfortable, the suit said. While driving to work for her next shift, she was dreading seeing her coworker. She realized it was going to affect her work and duties, the lawsuit said.
She submitted a written complaint to fire department management on Aug. 1, 2022, and subsequently spoke to the chief about her complaint.
However, her coworker remained employed by the fire department and was later promoted to captain.
Ferguson resigned from full-time employment in September 2022. She contends in the suit that the fire department “deliberately rendered her working conditions so intolerable that she was forced to switch to part-time employment.”
She resigned her employment in December 2022, contending the hostile working conditions forced to quit her job.
