Sept./Oct. 1999 Issue Number 3

Is a monthly electronic newsletter which links current events and issues to the daily challenges faced by fire and emergency services managers. Current topics in the area of sexual harassment, diversity management and conflict resolution will be discussed. Each month a problem will also be presented in the What Would You Do? column, which will ask for your input and comments.

We hope that you find the information here useful and provocative.
Let us know what you think!

A recent New York Times Magazine ran an essay entitled "The Joy of Quitting," which declared that "ditching a job is today's secret of success" and commented that the strength of the current economy might be in part due to the fact that so many people are now feeling free to quit their jobs in order to start something new. The article also reported that it is now common for those in certain fields (particularly high tech) to change jobs as frequently as every two years.

Reading this essay brought two thoughts to mind. First, I would put money on betting that the author is under age 35. The other thought was a memory of a comment made by a 15 year veteran fire officer from a large urban department. During a class on conflict resolution, he said with concern, "The standard on our department is to stay for 30 years, but these new kids don't see it that way. They want to work here as long as they like it, and leave if something better comes along." He paused thoughtfully and then concluded, "So we need to find a way to make them more like us." I had to tell this man that it just doesn't work that way. The younger generation of firefighters being hired now is the future of your organization, and it is critical to understand the values they bring to the workplace. Although it is unlikely that the fire service will ever be as volatile a workplace as the average computer or software company, the cultural changes inherent in the newer generation are bound to influence the fire service as well. Are you ready to adapt to these different values and paradigms? Consider the following:

So ask yourself: Is your organization one that offers continued challenges to workers throughout their careers? Do you consider lateral transfers in some positions, or do you require that everyone who comes to your department does so as a rookie? Have you ever done an inventory among your organization's members to learn about individuals' special skills and educational credentials? Have you thought about how you can creatively put those abilities to use? Is your department family friendly, including provisions for maternity, paternity, adoption, and other special needs leaves?

The fact remains that it costs an organization far more to recruit and train new employees than it does to retain the ones it already has. If you value your workers, don't take their lifelong loyalty as a given. It's a different world out there, and the challenge is not how to make the new generation more like you, but instead to understand their perspective and use it in a way that makes the fire service better for everyone.

Source: The New York Times Magazine, September 5, 1999

The Ford Motor Company and the EEOC have reached a settlement in a case involving alleged sexual harassment, sex discrimination, race discrimination, and retaliation against female employees of the corporation. The plaintiffs have been awarded nearly $8 million, with another $10 million to be committed by Ford for remedial training of all employees. (Retaliation will be the subject of next month's sexual harassment update.)

Many men believe that sexual harassment can only be a problem if there are women around. If they are working with only men, they believe, they are not vulnerable to complaints of sexual harassment. Wrong. In a unanimous decision handed down by the US Supreme Court on March 4, 1998, the possibility of same-sex sexual harassment became the law of the land. The case, Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, involved a man who was a member of an eight man crew on an offshore oil rig. Mr. Oncale was repeatedly physically and verbally threatened in a sexual manner during his employment on the offshore rig. The court upheld his claim of hostile environment harassment, stating, "Nothing in Title VII necessarily bars a claim of discrimination because of sex merely because the plaintiff and the defendant ... are of the same sex." The court went on to say that "Harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire to support an inference of discrimination based on sex."

The court's decision explicitly stated that only "behavior so objectionably offensive as to alter the conditions of the victim's employment" could be considered sexual harassment under the statute, and that it was not the high court's intention to write code for civility in the workplace. However, the case is clear that harassment by any agent of the organization against any worker is actionable under Title VII discrimination law.

With demographic and cultural changes a reality in the fire service, even men that seem to be much alike can have very different moral and cultural values. What is rowdy horseplay to one person may be perceived as threatening to another. Don't take chances in this area. Learn the law, develop inclusive policies, and have a complaint and remediation system that works. Most importantly, train all your employees in the recent changes in sexual harassment law. Without such measures in place, the organization is likely to be held liable for any harassment that takes place, regardless of who is perpetrating it.