Ex-firefighter Melissa Ignasiak Smith alleges a supervisor told her to “get pregnant so I could have you as my new secretary instead of having you fight fires.”
Headline Surfer photo by Multimedia Editor Sera King / Former firefighter Melissa Ignasiak Smith won a $444,000 gender discrimination suit against New Smyrna Beach, alleging a hostile work environment led to her being fired five years ago. Ironically, Mayor Adam Barringer, shown in the middle aboard an NSB fire truck in the 2012 Christmas parade, called cop Ralph Hunnefeld a "pr--k" because he wouldn't let the mayor cut through a barricade. NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla -- For as long as she can remember, Melissa Ignasiak Smith wanted to be a firefighter. After all, her father, Mike Ignasiak, was a police chief in Edgewater and now a city councilman there.
The daughter's dream became a reality when she was hired as a firefighter with the city of New Smyrna Beach on April 21, 2003. At the time, she was the lone female. But after nearly five tumultuous years, she was fired.
Today, the New Smyrna Beach FD is not only all-male but also all white, nearly mirroring the municipality's administration and elected commission.
Reflecting on a federal jury's quick verdict Feb. 28 against New Smyrna Beach and a whopping $444,000 in her favor after a five-day trial in US District Court in Orlando, Smith didn't mince words in speaking with Headline Surfer about the message delivered to the municipality.
"The federal judge and jury found the city liable, despite the city's false claims of innocence," she said. "(It was) a unanimous verdict given by unbiased jurors within only 1 1/2 hours."
The jury said she was entitled to $244,000 in back wages and another $200,000 for emotional distress damages.
Shortly after she was fired, Smith filed a gender discrimination claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging she was retaliated against by her supervisors. The EEOC dismissed her complaint, so she filed a lawsuit against the city in 2011 on the same grounds, leading to the recent trial and verdict in her favor.
Among the hostile working conditions that came out in testimony was Smith's assertion that one of her supervisors allegedly told her to “get pregnant so I could have you as my new secretary instead of having you fight fires.”
Smith said the jury's verdict has her feeling a "tremendous sense of joy" after years of heartache and humiliation, including suspension, that finally led to her termination on April 15, 2008. She was paid an hourly rate of $13.16, according to the city clerk's office.
Among the hostile working conditions that came out in testimony was Smith's assertion that one of her supervisors allegedly told her to “get pregnant so I could have you as my new secretary instead of having you fight fires.”
Smith said the jury's verdict has her feeling a "tremendous sense of joy" after years of heartache and humiliation, including suspension, that finally led to her termination on April 15, 2008. She was paid an hourly rate of $13.16, according to the city clerk's office. Headline Surfer had to wait two days for a public records request on Smith's employment in order to write a more complete story. As for the city's official position in firing her, City Clerk Johnny Bledsoe responded in an e-mail with: "Violation of various policies as well at previous disciplinary actions."
Bledsoe wasn't more specific on what those alleged policies and disciplinary actions were.
City Attorney Frank Gummey, the municipality's highest-paid official at more than $210,000 annually, did not return a call for comment. The city was represented by outside counsel. Neither did City Manager Pam Brangaccio nor Fire Chief Dave McCallister, who was elevated to chief within months of Smith's firing.
Carol Hargy, the city's human resources director, told the Daytona Beach News-Journal the city would appeal, but otherwise had no comment. She, too, did not return a call for comment from Headline Surfer.
A message left with Mayor Adam Barringer for comment wasn't returned. The mayor's ill-treatment of a city cop made headlines in December when he sarcastically shook police officer Ralph Hunnefeld's hand and called him a "pr--k" because the officer wouldn't let him cut through a barricade before the start of the annual New Smyrna Beach Christmas Parade.
Smith said she felt vindicated by the jury decision, considering her ordeal was more than a one-time happenstance like what happened to Hunnefeld.
"In the end, the city, chiefs, and lieutenants were allowed to victimize, discriminate, humiliate, harass, and retaliate... and be given a pat on the back in the end for doing so," Smith said. "Hopefully, there will be a change."
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