Female Firefighter Claims City Denied Her Job

A Shelton volunteer firefighter is suing the city on charges it stalled in giving her a promotion despite a promise to make her deputy fire marshal.

According to the suit, filed by Attorney John Williams, Collings filed complaints against the city alleging gender discrimination  because "she had been repeatedly denied the right to receive training to qualify her a fire marshal and/or fire inspector, despite her many years of service to the Shelton Fire Department as a volunteer."

City Attorney Thomas Welch was not immediately available for comment.

The city settled the complaint in 2006, agreeing to send Collings for training which she completed in 2007, the suit states.

On Jan. 2, 2008, the city Board of Fire Commissioners voted to appoint her as the next deputy fire marshal when the position became vacant, which Mayor Mark Lauretti agreed to, according to the suit.

When the deputy fire marshal resigned in 2009, Collings was allegedly sent a job offer that was later rescinded, instead offering her the job of Fire Safety Code Inspector, which paid $10 an hour less. She still holds that job, according to the city Website.

She also accuses Fire Marshal James Tortora of delaying the hiring process by a month, until April 27, 2010.

Through Tortora, the city allegedly ordered Collings not to complain to the Human Resources Department and "threatened her with disciplinary action should she do so."

Despite repeated requests, the city did not immediately issue her business cards and an office key, and "issued her only a single uniform," the complaint states. It allegedly took a complaint to the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities for compliance.

She was also reportedly given a jacket formerly used by another officer. "No other similarly situated Fire Department Officer ever was deprived of a key, business cards, multiple uniforms and a uniform jacket," Collings claims.

The inspector then accused the city of delaying her ability to take classes for her job and forcing her to park on the street in metered areas outside City Hall, "subjecting her to potential ticketing and towing."

Collings ultimately filed a retaliation complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Tortora allegedly gave Collings a written warning on June 12, 2012, while the complaint was pending.

Lauretti then suspended her for a month without pay. Then, on Oct. 24, 2012, the mayor accused her of filing meritless complaints, also threatening her with discipline "up to and including termination" if she did not obey Tortora.

Collings seeks unspecified damages.