Strange Sick Leave Leads to Firing, Lawsuit

A former Milwaukee (Wisc.) fire dispatcher has filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging he was the victim of gender and disability discrimination, and that his firing was too severe a punishment for his alleged misconduct. Robert Koch, 32, was a three-year veteran of the agency in 2009 when he reported off on sick leave before his midnight shift. According to police-fire commission documents, Koch has offered five versions of his activities after midnight—drinking alcohol or not, out with friends or visiting someone at a hospital, eating at one restaurant or another. Either way, Koch says he woke up at 3:30 a.m. outside near his home, missing his credit cards and truck. In one version of his story he said he was wearing a condom, and had been riding in a taxi with a woman. He called police to make a report, and later in the day provided a urine sample that tested negative for any alcohol or drugs. The police-fire commission upheld his firing, and a Circuit Court judge affirmed discipline, but sent the case back for a rehearing on the punishment. Now Koch is also suing in federal court, saying his experience that night was, “a highly-traumatic event of a highly-sensitive nature,” and has sparked his stress, anxiety and depression. In the lawsuit he says the city and its police-fire commission, “have adopted policies or customs which result in disparate treatment of men when compared to similarly-situated women employees of the Fire Department.” They also treat disabled people different, Koch claims. The lawsuit claims lost income, emotional suffering, humiliation and embarrassment because of the discrimination. Download (pdf) the federal lawsuit here, and read more about the situation here.