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Bluffton woman's suit charges sexual discrimination at fire district

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A former volunteer firefighter with the Bluffton Township Fire District has filed a sexual discrimination lawsuit, alleging the department used a tainted application process to keep her from becoming a paid employee.

An attorney for the fire district said no discrimination took place.

"We categorically deny that we discriminated against her in any fashion," attorney Christian Boesl said Wednesday.

Cathy Kelly, 53, joined the department as a volunteer in January 2006 and applied to become a full-time firefighter later that year, according to the suit, filed Feb. 22 in Beaufort County.

In November 2006, as part of the hiring process, Kelly and several other applicants took a timed physical test that recruits were required to pass to be considered for employment, according to the lawsuit. She said officials previously had told her the test would not be timed.

Kelly did not pass the test that day.

The fire district's Employee Hiring Procedure, posted on its Web site as of Wednesday under "Physical Testing," states, " ... Speed is not a factor, but endurance and completion is the goal. This is not a timed event."

Also during her test, Kelly claims she saw a hiring official helping a male applicant.

She then filed a grievance with district officials. Those officials agreed to allow a re-test for everyone who didn't pass the first time, according to the lawsuit.

Kelly said she later discovered that other applicants re-took the test in December.

Officials did not inform Kelly of the re-test date and time, according to the lawsuit.

Kelly then filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

After that complaint was filed, she said, district officials denied her training and gear while she was a volunteer. In March 2007, Kelly said, she stopped receiving fire district e-mails about meetings and training.

Currently, the Bluffton district has one female firefighter, according to Fire Chief Barry Turner. The district has 98 paid employees and 12 volunteers. Turner took over as chief last fall after former Chief Clay Graves resigned. The alleged discrimination took place when Graves was in charge of the district.

"We currently follow all EEOC requirements in our hiring procedures," Turner said. "There is no discrimination when it comes to employment."

The case has been moved from Beaufort County to federal court in Charleston at the request of Boesl, the fire district's attorney.

The fire district is funded by Beaufort County. County administrator Gary Kubic did not return calls seeking comment on the suit. Bob Rogers, chairman of the district's fire commission, also did not return calls seeking comment.

The suit comes after the district has made deep cuts and trimmed operating costs amid unexpected expenses. Among them is nearly $50,000 in back wages owed to 42 employees after the Department of Labor found those firefighters didn't receive overtime due them in 2007.

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