LONDON —
A Somerset couple dismissed last year from the local ambulance service has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court at London.
The suit was filed last Wednesday by Covington-based attorney Anthony Bucher on behalf of David and Rhonda Ivey. Named as defendants are McCreary County Fiscal Court, McCreary County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Jimmy Barnett, EMS director.
According to the complaint David Ivey joined the department in 2001 as a paramedic while his wife joined as an emergency medical technician (EMT) in 2004. Much of the suit hinges on alleged sexual harassment from Barnett toward Mrs. Ivey, beginning in January 2009 before Barnett had even joined the department.
Barnett was assistant fire chief at the Whitley City Fire Department in March 2010 when the ambulance station was damaged by fire and EMS began to share quarters with the firefighters. Mrs. Ivey alleges that she was subjected to several harassing comments from Barnett and other firefighters between then and August 2010, with the only action being that her schedule was changed by then-director Amy Barnett (Jimmy Barnett’s sister-in-law) to limit Mrs. Ivey’s interaction with members of WCFD. The fire department is not named as a defendant, nor is Ms. Barnett.
When Jimmy Barnett joined EMS in September 2010 as a part-time EMT, the Iveys allege the harassment “continued and escalated” until May 2011 when Amy Barnett resigned as Director and Jimmy Barnett applied for the position. The Iveys allege that Jimmy Barnett began telling co-workers he would terminate the couple once he got the job. In the meantime, the couple began to contact magistrates with their claims.
The complaint states that Mr. Barnett was approved as EMS Director by McCreary County Fiscal Court by a 3-1 vote on June 27, 2011, and the Iveys were terminated on July 1, 2011.
Mrs. Ivey is alleging that the defendants subjected her to a discriminatory workplace while Mr. Ivey claims he was terminated in violation of Kentucky’s Whistleblower Statute because he complained to multiple parties about his wife being harassed.
Mrs. Ivey also claims that she was not compensated for 270 hours of accumulated vacation and sick time. Both plaintiffs claim to “have suffered from a loss of income and benefits, severe emotional distress and mental anxiety.”
The couple is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages as well as legal fees.
McCreary County Judge-Executive Doug Stephens told the Record that he could not comment on pending litigation.
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