Volunteer firefighters Alex Donnell and John Scorsine reached a settlement on their Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints against the Falcon Fire Protection District.As reported in the Jan. 3, 2009, issue of The New Falcon Herald, the EEOC complaints filed by Donnell and Scorsine alleged they were denied promotions because of age discrimination and that members of the district’s fire department retaliated against them for filing an internal complaint of age discrimination.The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies Division of Civil Rights investigated the complaints.In March, the division issued a determination of probable cause in the matter of retaliation and no probable cause in the matter of refusal to promote based on age.According to settlement documents, the district agreed to pay Donnell and Scorsine a total of $15,000.The settlement requires Scorsine to resign immediately. Donnell must resign Jan. 6, 2011, the day he will have accrued 12 years of service, which qualifies him for volunteer pension credit.According to a statement issued by the board, “The Falcon Fire Protection District has policies against illegal discrimination and retaliation and hereby renews its commitment to comply with its policies and all laws which prohibit illegal discrimination and retaliation.””This is the third EEOC complaint they’ve had against them in four years, and nothing has really changed to prevent another complaint,” Donnell said.
