Lesbian Firefighter Awarded $1.75 Million in Lawsuit
A federal jury found that the city of Providence retaliated against Lt. Lori Franchina, who previously sued for on-the-job discrimination.
A former firefighter has been awarded $1.75 million in damages as part of a lawsuit alleging she was retaliated against — after filing a separate lawsuit alleging she was discriminated against.
Lori Franchina, who identifies as a lesbian, first began working for the Providence, Rhode Island, fire department in 2002. She quickly rose through the ranks, ending up as lieutenant, but claims she was mistreated due to her gender and sexual orientation.
She claims to have been subjected to a host of abusive behaviors at the hands of fellow firefighters.
Examples included being called lewd nicknames, such as “Fran-gina,” ignored in life-or-death situations, and even having a bloody glove snapped in her face, splashing another person’s brain matter into her eyes, nose, and mouth.
“That was the incident that broke me,” Franchina told Providence-based NBC affiliate WJAR.
The years of harassment forced her into early retirement in 2013.
Franchina complained to her supervisors numerous times, and even met with Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare about the mistreatment. Although one male firefighter was fired for sexual harassment, he later got his job back. Others involved were never disciplined, according to Franchina’s attorney, John Martin.
In 2011, Franchina attempted to apply for an accidental disability pension. The city only granted her an ordinary disability pension worth about $22,000 — equivalent to 30% of her pre-retirement salary and fully taxable. Had she been granted an accidental disability pension, it would have been twice as much and would not have been subject to taxes.
The city’s retirement board allegedly claimed that the treatment Franchina was subjected to — which left her with post-traumatic stress disorder — was no different than what any firefighter could expect on the job.
Franchina sued the city of Providence in 2012, alleging she was subjected to years of harassment, disrespect and discrimination while working as a city firefighter.
In 2016, a jury awarded her $806,000 in damages, interest, and legal fees. The city appealed the decision, but the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the jury’s verdict.
Despite the ruling in her favor, the city refused to reconsider her accidental disability pension claim.
In 2019, she petitioned to reopen her 2011 application, submitting sworn medical testimony from two physicians as evidence. But the Providence Retirement Board denied her claim in 2020, claiming that the case had already been “litigated to conclusion,” reports GO magazine.
In November 2021, Franchina filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming its refusal to reconsider the pension issue was a form of retaliation.
The Retirement Board claimed it lacked the authority to reopen her 2011 application. It alleged that she had not submitted new or sufficient medical evidence that her PTSD was the result of the harassment she received from fellow firefighters on the job.
Martin, Franchina’s lawyer, said those claims were proven to be inaccurate in court.
“Two weeks before trial, we offered to go to mediation with them where the only thing we were seeking was for them to reopen the application and provide her with a fair hearing, and they refused to even discuss it,” Martin told WJAR. “They could’ve avoided millions of dollars that they’re going to pay on this judgment by simply giving her a fair hearing, and they refused to do it two weeks before the verdict came down.”
On April 11, a federal jury unanimously sided with Franchina, recognizing the city’s inaction as a form of retaliation for her past lawsuit against the city.
The jury awarded her $1.75 million in compensatory damages, which will amount to between $4 million and $5 million once legal fees and interest are included.
“That’s more than double what the city would have paid if they just granted her the Accidental Disability Retirement in the first place,” Martin said.
The city may choose to appeal the jury’s verdict.
A spokesperson for Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said the city is “evaluating the jury’s verdict and determining next steps.”
Franchina, however, says her victory is more symbolic, showing others facing discrimination or harassment at work that they can fight back — and how to do so.
“They had the opportunity to fix it, they really did,” she said. “They just had to discipline a few [firefighters], and instead this has been 15 years now and I won’t stop fighting until everything is said and done.”
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