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Full article from WFTV-TV
Click here to watch interview with Firefighter Geri Miller
In Brevard County, Florida the city of Rockledge is wrestling with an issue that fire departments across the country have dealt with. If your policy is to allow firefighters injured off-duty to be given non-firefighting assignments until they are fit for duty, should you do the same for those who become pregnant?
Firefighter Geri Miller has gone public with that question in a TV interview after the city’s lone female firefighter, four months pregnant, says the fire chief forced her to go on maternity leave. We are only getting one side of this story because neither the chief or city officials will comment, telling WFTV-TV they don’t want to see personnel grievances on “trial in the media”.
Here’s more:
“I’m not looking for preferable treatment,” said Miller. “I’m not looking for that. I’m looking to be treated fairly.”
The city fire department’s union agreement gives “up to 180 days of unpaid leave” for maternity, but said nothing about what kind of work pregnant firefighters should get until they take maternity leave.
Miller said male firefighters were given light duty after being injured off-duty.
“If you can give light duty to someone else, why can’t you give light duty to me?” asked Miller.
It isn’t like fire departments with more than one woman on the job necessarily have the right answer to the pregnancy issue either. In the Nation’s Capital, the DC Fire & EMS Department found itself publicly dealing with its pregnancy policy on at least three different occasions in a little more than a decade. The most recent when Chief Kenneth Ellerbe’s administration in 2011 sparked controversy over a similar issue about light duty. Female firefighters made the case that DC police officers could get desk duty when pregnant, but firefighters were told to go home after 30 days of light duty. Chief Ellerbe was forced to change his policy after it made the news.
A previous DC fire chief had an absolutely mind boggling policy of ordering female applicants to take pregnancy tests and dealt with claims that a supervisor was telling rookie EMS employees to have an abortion or lose you job. As you can imagine, Chief Ronnie Few’s policy quickly went down in flames after I reported that story. There was also an earlier case of a female paramedic who wanted to stay on full duty and keep riding much longer than the fire chief wanted her to.
My point in bringing this up is that despite decades of women riding fire trucks this is still an issue for a number of fire departments. If your department is struggling with a policy, there are plenty departments that have come up the right answer that you can learn from. Not having a clear and fair policy will likely bring your department a fair amount of bad publicity.
And if your policy is clear and fair, get out there and make sure the public understands it. If you can’t or won’t defend a pregnancy policy or any other issue publicly when questions arise, maybe it’s time to change that policy and move on.
Also on STATter911 …
- Two DC firefighters accused by female firefighter of sexual assault. Two supervisors’ actions are part of the investigation. – June 3, 2013
- Firefighter vs police: Arkansas volunteer arrested after meeting off duty cop on the road. Flashing lights & speed are at issue. – May 1, 2012
- Facebook problems in the Nation’s Capital. Five DC firefighters taken off the street for comments about police. – May 14, 2013
- Detroit’s Charlie LeDuff faces camera after drunken weekend fight. Complaint to police says reporter urinated in public & bit security guard. – March 14, 2013
Comments
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She made a choice to get pregnant as opposed to an accidential injury. Big difference , people want their cake and to eat it too.
I think they want their livelihoods and families too. Interesting fallacious argument to analogy there, slack. I would argue that many “accidental injuries” were/are avoidable and thus based on decisions made by individuals. Is “choice” really the litmus test for whether or not an employee gets taken care of by the administration? That’s a rhetorical question.
So if you make a choice to do something dumbassed that leaves you unable to work how should you be treated? How do you view an employee who simply wants a family?
I take it you were there for the conception, skackjawed? Therefore you know her intentions?
If not, then shut up.
this is an issue that just wont go away. Why it has not been addressed in my carrear as a 2 choice question puzzles me. women should not be punished for having a child but in the same breath they should have the choice of light duty or mat leave. i understand that one has limitations over the other but thats the cost of running a department. in the case of a small department a LD assignment could be anything from an office “gofer” position to a part out of another job with the county. she should have alternatives and i hope that its not a glitch in a union contract. I wish her luck and gods blessing
The department I work for has a simple approach and we never seem to have a problem. Work in the field as long as you wish, ride a desk up to your due date should you wish, or go out and spend 6 months at home on unpaid leave after you have exhausted yours should you wish. Why put in place a policy that looks bad in court or in the court of public opinion. While my department has made the news for many things this issue has never been one of them.
I’ve been in the fire service 5 years. My son is now 10 months old. I worked up until my doctor told me I couldn’t, which was approximately a month before my son was born. There’s no reason she should be forced to take maternity leave before she’s ready. If she & her doctor feel she can continue to do the job, then let her have at it.
If my wife was a firefighter and was carrying my child, I would be highly ticked off and concerned if she was working as a firefighter while 7-8 months pregnant. Why take those chances? And what do you do while at a fire and 7-8 months pregnant, hang back so you don’t get injured in any possible way? What good are you to anyone then? That’s being selfish in more than one way.
This is an example of why professional management and leadership education is needed in the fire service. Compassion and good judgment keep all from being imprisoned by their Policy and Procedure Manual. Sometimes people lose sight of the fact that the fire service is about serving people, not budgets, egos, or someone’s sense of “morality.” Those that believe that reasonable accommodations are “unfair” simply because there is no such analogous equivalent need critical thinking skills.
It is a nominal fallacy to assume that accidents, illnesses, and other temporary physical limitations must all be treated the same. Objectifying any employee through bureaucratic reasoning falls short of appropriate management. The chief should be admonished and “retrained.” When the people serve the policy more than the policies serve the people, it is time to do something different.
Slackjawedyokel your opinion is probably one of the dumbest things i ever heard. “She chose to get pregnant?!” WTH I bet you would do great if you were head of human resources. I think she should consult with her doctor and see how far she can go before she pushes the limit. If she doesn’t want to get on the truck put her on light duty using a 40hr work week schedule. My career dept does this for anyone who gets hurt on or off duty. Hopefully her’s will change the policy for future women employees. Good luck and stay safe brothers & sisters.
We pull pregnant females from the field as soon as we are notified they are pregnant. They go to 40 hrs light duty and then 8 weeks maternity leave and whatever FMLA or vacation they want to take.
My 2 Cents from California:
In 2012 this is an issue that should have been addressed years ago by this and the Majority of FD’s in the USA.
Once again it shows many FD Chief’s are “Behind the Power Curve”, either because:
A. They don’t know the information is “Out There, One the Web”
or
B. They would rather just stay under the “Comfy Rock” and ignore the issue, up until it becomes a “Lawsuit” in one form of another. The subsequent costs in trial and settlement is money taken away from the City’s budget which impacts in the end the FD Budget.
With that in mind those who are so inclined can go to the:
International Association of Women in Fire and Emergency Services-”IAWFES website at:
http;//www.i.women.org
The Organizantion evolved from the previous;
Women in the Fire Service Inc. and was absorbed into the:
International Association of Fire Chief’s or IChief’s
Once you go to the website, go to the:
“Resources and Links Page”
There you will several articles:
1. “Reproductive Safety and Pregnancy: Sample FD Policy Language”
2. i.women Position Statement, Reproductive Safety and Maternity dated 8-22-10.
Time for the “Dinosaur Brained” Chief’s and Command Staff to get into the 21st Century.
Example:
The term “Pressure Plane” is no longer just used in High Rise Firefighting. The UL, FDNY and Chicago studies use this term in describing:
“Transitional Attack” in their documents and video’s.