‘Just atrocious’: Ursula appalled amid SFD sexual harassment controversy

The former head of HR for the Seattle Fire Department (SFD), Sarah Lee, filed a $2.5 million lawsuit against the city, claiming she was fired for raising concerns over several instances of a hostile work environment, including drinking on duty and sexual harassment from other employees.

Gee put the process of being a whistleblower into perspective on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, stating that oftentimes those who report workplace violations are relieved of their duties, and then changes in the department follow.

“It’s always the people who come out and expose the toxicity or the situation; it’s really easy to label that person angry or difficult to work with. That is the default deferring mechanism that ends up happening,” Gee said. “What usually happens is the whistleblower gets fired, and once they get rid of that person, then the company makes a change. That’s just the cycle of how it goes.”

Ursula recalled other instances of controversy within SFD in recent years and called for fundamental changes in the department to safeguard its employees.

“I think that, unfortunately, this person has a great lawsuit on her hands. Some serious scrutiny needs to happen at SFD, because I want to remind everyone that Chief Harold Scoggins was involved in the missing text scandal during Chaz and Chop. That somehow went away, and nothing ever happened. Then, during COVID, there was the controversy when some firefighters allegedly claimed they received a vaccine even though they had not. I say there are some serious leadership issues, and then now these claims are just atrocious.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.