Lawsuit filed by 3 former fire chiefs accuses FDNY and Commissioner Laura Kavanagh of age discrimination
NEW YORK -- The FDNY and Commissioner Laura Kavanagh are facing allegations of age discrimination in a lawsuit filed by three fire chiefs near the age to 60.
Kavanagh has been under fire for months for changing the FDNY's upper management and now the other shoe has dropped.
The lawsuit claims 15 top, older department staffers were either demoted, forced into retirement or retaliated against by Kavanagh as she sought to put her stamp on the agency.
The suit was filed by:
- Assistant Chief of Fire Prevention Joseph Jardin, 61, who was bumped down two ranks to deputy chief.
- Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Gala, 62, who was demoted to chief quartermaster in the department's outfitting department and reassigned from headquarters to Fort Totten, Queens. His staff car was taken away too.
- Chief of Uniformed Personnel Michael Massucci, 59, who was reassigned to the tech services toolroom in Long Island City "with no responsibilities, subordinates or direct reports," according to the suit, which also claimed his computer access was cut off.
The lawsuit claims Kavanagh "retaliated against them and created a hostile work place. She sought not just to end, but literally to destroy their long and distinguished careers." The goal was to "replace plaintiffs and other senior employees with younger personnel."
During an appearance on New York 1, before the suit was filed, Kavanagh spoke about trying to have her own team, just as every commissioner has done after taking office.
"I want to have my own team and I definitely do now," said Kavanagh. "There's just no way as a new leader to get everything that we need as the largest fire department in the country done without having our own team. It's not easy to make tough decisions, but I think they are necessary."
The fire department referred CBS2's request for comment on the age discrimination lawsuit to the law department, but the city's lawyers declined comment.
The lawsuit follows an unsuccessful attempt by the chiefs to have their demotions overturned.