Former firefighter files lawsuit against City of South Fulton
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A federal lawsuit has been filed by a former firefighter, Marc Magloire, against the City of South Fulton and its fire department. The lawsuit alleges serious issues of harassment, retaliation, intimidation, and corruption within the city's Fire Department and Human Resources Department.
According to the lawsuit, Magloire complained about being physically assaulted by a coworker and sexually harassed by supervisors at Fire Station 7 during the Winter of 2021 and Spring of 2022. Despite city policy requiring such complaints to be reported to Human Resources for investigation, department leaders allegedly threatened disciplinary action against Magloire if he reported his concerns. Instead of addressing the complaints, the leaders purportedly attempted to cover them up and discredit Magloire by creating documentation of performance concerns.
The lawsuit claims that Magloire was subjected to retaliation, including being required to retake training examinations and being transferred to the Logistics Department pending a fitness for duty examination, despite passing the examinations. The examination, conducted by Dr. Joseph Hill, found Magloire fit for duty but speculated about performance issues based on documentation provided by supervisors. Despite assurances that Magloire's performance was not a factor in his reassignment, department leaders refused to return him to his firefighter duties based on alleged performance concerns mentioned in Dr. Hill’s report.
Magloire was pressured to sign a back-dated document agreeing to a performance improvement plan, despite no prior documented concerns about his performance, according to the lawsuit. Ultimately, he was terminated, with the city notifying the Department of Labor that he is not eligible for rehire. Magloire, who had received a Shield of Life Saving Award for reviving a cardiac arrest patient, was denied the opportunity to return to his firefighter position even after obtaining favorable fitness for duty examinations from licensed therapists and psychologists.
Several individuals are named in the lawsuit, including Marlon Brown, Battalion Chief Jeffery Potter, Acting Cheif Jerry Nears, Dr. Carla Moore, Fire Chief Chad Jones, HR manager Hope Blakely and others.
Magloire is represented by Civil Rights Attorney Arnold Lizana, who stated that the city terminated Magloire not due to concerns about his fitness for duty but because he complained about the unlawful conduct of senior fire department officials. Lizana emphasized the prevalence of retaliation in the workplace and the misuse of fitness for duty evaluations for vindictive purposes.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), retaliation is the most common type of discrimination charge, accounting for 51.6% of cases in 2023. The EEOC received 37,898 retaliation charges in 2023, and filed 244 retaliation lawsuits on behalf of victims, resulting in $22.7 million in monetary benefits.
The lawsuit is asking for lost wages and back pay, general compensatory damages, special damages, injunctive relief under Title VII, ADA and FMLA, lawyer's fees and expenses/costs, and other relief as the court deems appropriate.