Fire Department settles sex-bias suit

A female Seattle firefighter has settled her sex-discrimination lawsuit with the Seattle Fire Department for $120,000.

Susan M. Radosevich, 49, sued last year in U.S. District Court, contending that she was the subject of years of harassment and received treatment different from male colleagues. As recently as July, Radosevich was seeking more than $1.2 million and a letter of apology from Chief Gregory Dean.

After mediation, the firefighter agreed this month to the lump-sum payment and being allowed to keep her job.

The agreement prohibits the parties from discussing the case.

Radosevich is assigned to the Fire Marshal's Office as a firefighter inspector in the new construction section.

Radosevich joined the department in 1981. According to court papers, she injured her back in 1989 and was assigned to the Fire Alarm Center, which dispatches all calls for service.

In 2003, Radosevich contends that she began having trouble getting time off for family matters, particularly when she wanted to care for her sick son.

In her lawsuit, Radosevich said she was subjected to "gender-based insults, harassment, intimidation" and had to follow stricter guidelines when she did seek time off. Eventually, she claims, she was forced into the training center and had to undergo a fitness-for-duty evaluation that included drug and alcohol testing.

When it was confirmed she could not work as a firefighter, the city tried to have Radosevich stripped of her status and have her made a civilian employee, which would have drastically cut her pay, she said in her suit. The firefighter contends that this treatment was different from what male counterparts endured.

City attorneys countered that the Fire Department took measures to ensure that Radosevich was not harassed. The problem, city officials argued, was that Radosevich is a difficult employee with problems working with her colleagues because of her moodiness and intimidating manner.