Audit says fire department is making headway against harassment, discrimination

The Los Angeles Fire Department has made progress in addressing problems of harassment and discrimination that have cost taxpayers millions of dollars in legal payouts, according to an audit released today by the city controller.

But department officials still have a long way to go to strengthen the way complaints and investigations are handled, the 33-page report found.

The report, a follow-up to a scathing audit released more than two years ago, was released during a news conference attended by City Controller Laura Chick and Fire Chief Douglas L. Barry.

"Chief Barry's strong leadership has produced results," Chick said.

Her report comes at a critical time for the 3,900-member force, which has long been considered one of nation's best when it comes to fighting fires. But the department has struggled to overcome long-standing allegations of unchecked harassment, discrimination and retaliation.

Since July 2005, taxpayers have paid $7.3 million to settle Fire Department retaliation, harassment and discrimination allegations, according to figures released earlier this year by the city attorney's office.

That total does not $1.6 million jury award to two white captains who were suspended without a formal investigation after a black firefighter under their command had his spaghetti dinner spiked with dog food as a prank. Nor does it in include a $6.2 million jury award last summer to a female firefighter who alleged that she was harassed off the force because she is black and a lesbian.

The department could be forced to implement additional reforms as a result of an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which last year found that a "pattern and practice ... exists for a class of female and black firefighters based on gender and race."

The commission is preparing settlement recommendations that will presented to the city, according to two sources familiar with the proceedings who asked not to be named because of the confidentiality of the probe.

Chick's previous audit, released in early 2006, found evidence of harassment, discrimination and retaliation.

The report was especially critical of the department's disciplinary process, saying investigations of complaints were "poorly documented, poorly tracked, inconsistent, subjective and viewed by many firefighters as unfair."

To improve the process, the audit recommended that the department establish a special unit to investigate harassment and discrimination complaints that would bypass the department's chain of command and report directly to the five-member civilian Fire Commission and the city's Personnel Department.

That key recommendation, which echoed that of a previous audit a decade earlier, was not implemented.

But Barry has established an Professional Standard Division, which includes about a half dozen uniformed firefighters and part-time civilian employees.

Chick said the new division was a marked improvement over the previous system but that she still would like to see an independent unit investigate complaints.

robert.lopez@latimes.com