Montana firefighter-paramedic fired over her Instagram content

[Wendell]

A former Evergreen Fire Rescue firefighter/paramedic has filed a wrongful termination claim alleging she was fired because of her gender and singled out by the department for her social media use. In her complaint filed Jan. 2 with the Montana Human Rights Bureau, Presley Pritchard alleged she also suffered multiple instances of sexual harassment during her nearly three-year career with Evergreen and was asked to take down social media posts showing her in workout and firefighter gear, while others in the department faced no such recourse. Pritchard, a 27-year-old influencer, promotes her fitness lifestyle to her 135,000 Instagram followers.
https://www.dailyinterlake.com/local_news/20200107/former_firefighterparamedic_files_claim_against_ev ergreen_fire__



Not guilty.

[Yung]

I took a look at the person in question's instagram content. It reminded me of one of the models for Mr. Butler, who also has the image of a woman policeman out of LAPD? who wears her father's badge. I'm not going to bother searching for it and linking it here unless someone asks.

The article linked has a fair bit of detail about the actual grounds for termination and the current state of the complaint, sufficient enough to take the sensation out of the headline. Suffice to say appearance on social media is only part of it.

Mentally, I'd put this in the same set of powerpoint slides in my brain that cover the ongoing discussion of the historical differences in applicants to public emergency services, partially due to screening and hiring policies established by administrators who don't have entry-level experience. However, from where I'm sitting, the kind of young, strong, intelligent, and dedicated candidate of today who some folks here would advise not to enter service nowadays is also most likely going to take a few pictures of themselves in uniform doing uniform things with their cell phones and put it somewhere online where there's also pictures of them out-of-uniform doing out-of-uniform things.

At that point, a big part of the proof is in is the actual job performance. What did her co-workers think of her performance while she was actually on the job, aside from an occasional moment to take a picture? Was she a good firefighter-paramedic? The answers to those sort of things won't necessarily be reflected in the paperwork that comprises her being fired and lodging a complaint about it.

[farscott]

I read the article. While issues like this (and the oh-so-minor fact that no one wants to see pictures of me in skimpy clothing on Instagram) are why I do not use social media, I do believe the Ms. Pritchard will prevail in the legal system. Montana's Board of Labor says she was not fired for not meeting employer obligations and is eligible for unemployment compensation that the city has not paid, the city has and had no social media policy even after one was supposed to be developed, she has prima facie evidence of discrimination, and she has evidence of other firefighters using social media in a manner that can be seen as promoting violence as a solution of a political issue. CNN has also reached out to her per the comments on the story.

She may well have earned her termination, but policies exist for a reason -- to justify employer behavior and show termination was for a valid reason. I feel it will be an expensive lesson for the taxpayers of Evergreen, MT.

[Hambo]

I did a quick check to see if her department has a union, and it doesn't appear to based on this http://mscopff.org/?zone=/unionactiv...0522&page=MSFA

If that's the case, she is an at-will employee and subject to termination at any time. Unless she can prove she was fired solely for being a woman, she's out of luck.

Moral of the story: you need to fully understand the terms of your employment. Moral #2, social media is worse than a social disease.

[deflave]

Interesting article and thank you for posting.

Having been career law enforcement and also having resided in rural Montana for ten years of my life, I would assume the department is absolutely going to pay out. In my dealings with small town areas, the professionalism and consistency often drops to about zero. A lifetime spent in a sub 10K population does really weird things. Jealousy and infighting abounds even among the natives.

Throw in a native New Yorker with a set of bolt-ons that rises to Instagram fame... Yeah. I'm pretty sure there were some emotionally based decisions taking place during this process.

[GJM]

I know nothing about the particulars here, but in terms of employment law, Montana is a very pro employee state, and terminations are more difficult than in many other states.

[Hambo]

I know nothing about the particulars here, but in terms of employment law, Montana is a very pro employee state, and terminations are more difficult than in many other states.

I stand corrected. Termination for "good cause" is built into the process in Montana.

https://www.blr.com/HR-Employment/Pe...rge-in-Montana

[Crazy Dane]

Our (fire)departments social media policy says we cant post anything that represents or makes the department look bad. My interpretation of it, anyway. I'm not going to dig through her instagram account, mainly because I don't know how to, but the pics in the article of her in skimpy work out cloths and the obvious posing that appears to be on duty would be enough to get her in hot water here. We have a lot of the same types that post everything to social media and it seems as long as they play by the rules, everything is cool.

[snow white]

Shit, I'd light my house on fire just to get her through the front door.

[Nephrology]

Just my opinion, but when you put on a uniform for a public-facing job (especially one where you will work with people on the worst days of their lives), I think it's important to remember that it's no longer about you.

To the public, when they see you, they will see in you everyone else who has worn the same uniform. By the same token, the way they see you - online, on TV, in person - directly affects the way they view the next person who comes into their life wearing the same thing. Act accordingly.

It's fine (and normal) to have photos of yourself in uniform if you're proud of it, if those photos reflect positively (or at least not negatively) on the service that uniform represents. When it starts to become less about the uniform, and more about the "U," then it is worth reflecting on why you first put it on to begin with.

Per the article, this is not something this woman seemed to understand after multiple conversations with her employer, whom she represents each time she puts on that turn-out gear. I don't think her firing was unreasonable. She may have been a good paramedic, and probably is a perfectly nice lady, but if you feel your personal image (fit, sexy, Montana crossfitter) is more important than what people need when they dial 911 (a firefighter-paramedic who is there to help them), then it might be time to consider a different line of work.