The Plaintiff is Reportedly Seeking Over $25K in Damages
A former firefighter who served in Marina del Rey is suing Los Angeles County, alleging that he faced discrimination over his disability and endured homophobic harassment from a co-worker while at the Marina del Rey fire station, according to a report from Los Angeles Times.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, outlines a six-year history of alleged discrimination and harassment that plaintiff Guilherme Guimaraes claims violated his rights under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. Guimaraes is reportedly seeking more than $25,000 in damages.
In 2017, Guimaraes developed aplastic anemia after exposure to toxic smoke and benzene on the job, requiring him to take 20 months of medical leave. After returning to his post in Marina del Rey, he claims he struggled to secure accommodations, including the need for a service dog and a well-ventilated workspace, the L.A. Times reported. Guimaraes’s lawsuit states that these difficulties were compounded when a new firefighter, Eric Barnett, joined the station in early 2021 and allegedly began making homophobic remarks.
While Guimaraes is not gay, the complaint notes that Barnett’s comments deeply affected him because of his own close ties to a gay family member, creating an uncomfortable and hostile work environment. According to the suit, despite Guimaraes filing complaints, the Fire Department failed to take disciplinary action against Barnett, leading to an escalation in tensions between the two, the L.A. Times reported.
In 2022, Guimaraes was temporarily reassigned to other fire stations in North Hollywood and Agoura Hills, which he claims were retaliatory moves for speaking out about Barnett’s behavior. However, he was later returned to the Marina del Rey station, where Barnett allegedly continued the harassment, including placing offensive items in Guimaraes’s locker. Guimaraes was later reassigned to Chatsworth, where he found another item intended to harass him, the suit claims, as reported by the L.A. Times.
