This is a very interesting case involving a female employee by the name Anne Wedow and her employer City of Kansas City, Missouri from United States of America. Anne Wedow was working as a battalion chief for the Kansas City Fire Department, which she filed the case against. This is a typical employment suit, with the complainant arguing a very strong case against her employer. The case was filed in a United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit on March 24, 2006.
According to Anne Wedow, her employer, the City of Kansas City, subjected her to discriminatory treatment because of her gender (female). In particular, she considered the clothing and facilities provided the employer to be discriminatory. Besides, she argued that her employer also alleged to retaliate against her. This is a very interesting and a landmark case that has been used as reference for employment discrimination related cases.
What is surprising is that such a case of sexual discrimination could happen in 2006, despite the human civilization and strong waves of activists campaigning for gender equity and female emancipation cutting across the globe. Certainly, it was less expected especially to happen in the United States, which has been branded the land of civilization and equal rights and justice. During this age, women have more equal right to their counterpart men, than was ever before. The odds of such occurrence would be minimal in a more civilized society like the United States.
In this case, the plaintiff complains that the Fire Department did not provide women with adequate protective clothing and adequate essential facilities such as bathroom and shower. She uses these as strong support for the claim of hostile work environment. In my opinion, given that this was part of the first petition, the employer, City of Kansas City, could have been pragmatic in their action even before this new case was filed with the court. They could have done what is necessary by proving adequate protective clothing and adequate bathroom and showers to their female workers. In essence, this could have effectively minimized the impact of the case.
Many reasons can be given why the Fire Department treated their female employees as they did. Nevertheless, discrimination against female workers comes out very vividly from their course of action. Their argument could be that women like Anne Wedow and Kathleen Kline who are battalion chiefs were not directly involved in firefighting so they didn’t need more protective measures. However, this is a weak argument that should not be accepted in the 21st century. In essence, the safety of every employee must be considered irrespective of his or her department, male or female. This could be the strongest argument that prompted the jury to grant Anne Wedow the petition. It remains a strong lesson to every employer who discriminates against female workers.
Reference
Cheeseman, H. R. (2012). Business Law. Pearson/Prentice Hall.
