All she had to do was remove some pictures that offended her employers policy. She refused to follow the policy, she ceased to be an employee. Seems simple to me.
SAVANNAH -- A discrimination lawsuit by a former Savannah firefighter claiming she was fired in a flap over her MySpace page has been thrown out.
U.S. District Judge J. Randal Hall, in a 30-page ruling, rejected claims by Tiffany A. Marshall against the city of Savannah and Fire Chief Charles Middleton.
Judge Hall ruled for the defendants and ordered the case closed. He said he found that no genuine issues of fact existed on racial- or gender-discrimination claims.
Moreover, Judge Hall rejected Ms. Marshall's claim of retaliation under a free-speech contention.
Ms. Marshall joined Savannah Fire & Emergency Services in September 2006. She was fired the following March after a flap over her MySpace page, which department officials said "conflicted" with the way the department wanted to be portrayed.
She created a MySpace page before joining the department, then posted several photographs of herself that were personal or professional in nature.
One of the photos was taken from the city's Web site. It showed several firefighters, including Ms. Marshall, and it had been used to demonstrate diversity in the department.
She also posted two of her modeling photos - wearing only a white towel in one, while in the other, she was wearing "minimal, if any clothing," Judge Hall found.
Chief Middleton thought Ms. Marshall was "using her notoriety as a Savannah firefighter to promote herself as a model for other personal publicity reasons," and the fire chief confronted her, Judge Hall said.
Chief Middleton told Ms. Marshall her actions were in direct violation of department policy and directed her to remove the photos of firefighters in gear or in uniform from the MySpace page.
Fire department officials issued an oral reprimand - the lowest level of discipline - for violation of city policy and "bringing discredit to the fire bureau," Judge Hall found.
At a meeting March 2, 2007, Chief Middleton and Assistant Chief Stephen Bragg said Ms. Marshall was combative, and Asst. Chief Bragg called her insubordinate.
Asst. Chief Bragg decided to terminate Ms. Marshall for cause and probation violations.
In her initial lawsuit filing, Ms. Marshall alleged sexual discrimination and retaliation, then added racial discrimination in an amended complaint.
Ruling on a motion by attorney Patricia Paul, Judge Hall said Ms. Marshall was "unable to demonstrate that any male firefighters were treated differently than she" on the gender claim.
Ms. Marshall failed to assert racial discrimination in her Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filing, and Judge Hall said she could not assert it in her amended complaint.
He also ruled her complaint did not meet the standards for First Amendment protection.
"This court need not determine whether Savannah Fire retaliated against her for her speech," Judge Hall ruled.
Comments
All she had to do was remove some pictures that offended her employers policy. She refused to follow the policy, she ceased to be an employee. Seems simple to me.
Good ruling Judge Hall. Too bad she couldn't be counter-sued for wasting taxpayer's money.
A good example of "when keepin it real goes wrong." She should've kept her stupid mouth closed and just did what she was told. Now she discredits people with valid complaints of racism by pulling the card at the wrong time....which probably happens in most cases like this.
When you have no real defense, toss the card. Only this time it didn't work. The rules are clear. Follow them or face the consequences.
Well said Waymore.
Great Ruling - Now add to the ruling that she must pay for all costs associated with this ridiculous law suit for being such a spoiled rotten brat and trying to use the race card as so many do nowdays. Not only should she have to pay for all court costs but the salaries of time wasted by those having to testify, etc. and for any training she received as a fire fighter. If the request from your employer is legitimate, no matter what it is, then do as you are asked or prepare to seek employment elsewhere. If you want to do as you wish then sit on your butt and collect unemployment or go start your own business.
on the one hand I think it's a crock to use "discrimination", whether sexual or racial, as her defense.. on the other hand, is the government so LAME as to be making policies based on "myspace" or any other social networking sites? I mean really? they hold about as much worth as an "e-thug", the guy that talks like hes a 500lb gorilla-man behind the keyboard but in real life he's the 98lb weakling that used to get sand kicked in his face at the beach...
Good ruling judge. Take the misused race card and shove it up the users dark side.
Well, I guess she'll have plenty of time to pursue her modeling career, won't she?
WOW... a little late on this one because I just happened to come across it, but.... was the original story ran on this? I am guessing not. Did the writer happen to mention the part where there was a general order put out giving ALL personnel until March 7, 2007 to make sure that they were in compliance of with policies and procedures. It gave personnel the opportunity to remove any identifiers or seek permission from the Chief to use them. Yeah... Ms. Marshall was brought in for disciplinary action on MARCH 2, 2007, and NO ONE else was disciplined. Get your facts straight here people before you go judging people. And to the writer of this article, Ms. Skutch, you should be ashamed of yourself for even putting out the story and not having your facts straight. Do your job and do the research so the people can have the facts and know the full story. Not only was Ms. Marshall not given the opportunity to make sure she was in compliance with the policies like everyone else, the policies that they said she was in violation of were invalid claims on their part. If you all should be mad at anyone for wasting tax payer money, the fingers should be pointed at the City of Savannah.
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