North Kitsap Fire and Rescue’s insurance carrier settled a sexual harassment lawsuit filed in 2010 for an undisclosed amount in July. The plaintiff’s attorney said the amount was “well into six figures.”
As part of the settlement, the lawsuit was dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning another lawsuit based on the same grounds cannot be refiled. And the fire department “is not accepting any liability,” said its attorney, Mark Dynan of Tacoma.
The Herald filed a public record request on Oct. 21 seeking the exact amount of the settlement. NKF&R Fire Chief Dan Smith said he didn’t know if the settlement would affect the cost of the department’s insurance. “I’m not 100 percent sure what that impact will be. I’m certain there will be some impact, but to what degree that is, I don’t know.”
Tamara Dotson was a firefighter for NKF&R from January 1999 to July 2009 — first as a volunteer firefighter, and from November 2001 to July 2009 as a full-time firefighter/paramedic. She became a physician’s assistant after leaving the department.
In her 13-page complaint, Dotson alleged three male supervisors often bragged about their sexual prowess and made racist and sexually charged comments (one allegedly referred to attractive women as “sexual chocolate” and another allegedly exposed himself in the station).
Dotson claimed she was the subject or witness of harassing behavior in approximately 14 instances.
Dotson also alleged she had to use a restroom and shower used by men because no female restroom and shower facility was made available, that she was subjected to retaliation after having knee surgery, that she was denied training opportunities, and that her requests to be transferred to another department were denied.