ScenarioS

**Be sure to review BOTH scenarios.
The information in the scenarios may used in the learning assessment. **

Daniel: A CASE of THINGS GOING TOO FAR?

Background About Daniel

Daniel has been on the job for several years and has been assigned to a couple of different stations. He has achieved his Firefighter III status and has been assigned to a new station for about a year.

Since he has been there he has noted that his Native American origin is frequently the topic of conversation. He has found items on his locker that he feels are culturally demeaning.

He is not exactly sure who is doing these things but he is starting to get a little fed up about the situation and does not feel comfortable.

Daniel feels he has a good rapport with the master firefighter on the shift so he goes to him and describes the things that have been going on, "just to vent."

How Would You Respond?

Some common responses are listed and there is a brief discussion of each.

The folks on this shift don’t mean any harm. It's all in good fun.

Fun that comes at the expense of others is not "good fun." This sort of behavior needs to be corrected. Ideally we would want Daniel to handle this situation with his Supervisor and we would want the Supervisor to re-establish the boundaries of what is appropriate and what is not appropriate. However, Daniel is not limited to talking with his supervisor. When an employee feels like they are being discriminated against that have many options to address the issue. They can:

Notify anyone in the chain of command
File a complaint at the County level
File a complaint at the State level
File a complaint at the Federal level.

Perhaps you should think about putting in a transfer request because these guys will never change.

If the problem is that people are behaving badly two things are true:

Those people need to adjust their behavior.
Daniel should not suffer or be forced to move so that the behavior can continue unaddressed.

Thanks for letting me know. I will say something to the guys and I think this is something we should advise the Captain of so she can ensure that this kind of behavior doesn’t continue.

This is the best answer. You can't "let it go." Get this matter to the station officer/ shift officer as soon as possible and face the issue head on. It is important to not let things slide. Addressing these sorts of issues early and properly reduces risk for the organization and for individuals BUT more importantly it stops individuals from experiencing harmful interactions. There are some things you cannot unhear. When you are advised about EEO related issues you have an obligation to report it to your supervisor.

Julie: A Case of Stopping TRouble early

Julie is a new volunteer at station 27. She is 17 years old and will be 18 in the summer. She is super excited to volunteer and has been working hard to get checked off on her EMT skills and riding calls for her charge status.

Imagine that your are the officer on duty and you overhear a conversation in the locker room about one of a fellow firefighter who has been paying some extra special attention to Julie. They goes out of their way to assist Julie, even staying out in the unit for several hours going over skills.

While there has not been any inappropriate behavior that you have personally noticed some of the conversations indicate that the firefighter may be getting a little close to engaging in inappropriate behavior. Given the three options below which is the better response?

Immediately call the firefighter to your office and tell him that you have heard of some of the interactions and you warn him to knock it off. You will not tolerate that type of behavior on your shift.
Contact the EEO office and make a third-party complaint of sexual harassment on behalf of the volunteer.
Sit back and watch to see if the allegations are really true. You don’t want to single the guy out if the other firefighters are exaggerating.

Factors To Consider

Julie is still a minor.
There is a fine line between "harassment" via unwanted touching and criminal misconduct
Nothing "bad" has happened yet as far as you know.
In this scenario you are a supervisor

Immediately call the firefighter to your office and tell him that you have heard of some of the interactions and you warn him to knock it off. You will not tolerate that type of behavior on your shift.

There is a fine line to be walked here. You cannot ignore the allegations/conversations but you also cannot jump to conclusions and reprimand someone without at least hearing their side of the story. The most important thing to do is to have a conversation and to make sure that every one is clear on behavioral expectations. **KEY POINT** As a supervisor you don't have to wait for something bad to actually happen before you intervene. Stopping a bad trajectory early is the best way to protect yourself, other people, and the organization.

Contact the EEO office and make a third-party complaint of sexual harassment on behalf of the volunteer?

We are not saying that you can't file an EEO complaint. We are saying that there are MORE APPROPRIATE initial actions to take.

Sit back and watch to see if the allegations are really true. You don’t want to single the guy out if the other firefighters are exaggerating.

It is quite normal to want to stop and just watch for yourself. Certainly you don't want to be accusing people of things for which you have only hearsay as evidence.

However, once you hear of a possible issue it is better to take immediate definitive action, even if that action is simply to remind everyone of behavioral expectations. Doing nothing or delaying action is rarely the right answer. If you are unsure you should always consult with your supervisor.

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