RI Firefighter Settles Racial Discrimination Lawsuit
Source Firehouse.com News
A veteran Providence firefighter has settled a lawsuit with the city that alleged he was transferred within the department based on his race.
According to WPRI 12 News, Renato Alarcon was paid $7,500 to settle the lawsuit he filed in 2015. The television station reported that Alarcon, who has worked for the department since 1999, was replaced by a white colleague when he was transferred. He claimed he was replaced because of his race.
Alarcon also alleged that a firefighter colleague made inappropriate comments about his race and alleged that Hispanic firefighters were banned from parking their cars in certain areas after a white firefighter lodged a complaint, the television station reported.
The television station said Alarcon claimed he was out of work for nearly three months “to address the emotional effects” of the actions his colleagues took against him.
The city said in a pretrial memorandum filed that Alarcon was transferred because of “insubordination, violent outbursts, confrontation nature [and] overall threat to a work environment, the television station reported.
The lawsuit, which accused the city of racial discrimination, employment discrimination and retaliation, was scheduled to go to trial in September, but that was averted due to the decision to settle the claim, the station reported.
