A Massachusetts firefighter who claimed he was fired from his job because of racial discrimination complaints he made should be reinstated, a judge ruled Monday.
In 2010, Brookline firefighter Gerald Alston told department officials that Lt. Paul Pender had used a racial slur in a voicemail message left for Alston, WBZ-TV reports. In the years that followed his complaint, Alston, who is black, said he felt he was the target of retaliation before he was placed on leave and eventually let go in 2016.
In February, the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission sided with Alston in an 83-page ruling that stated the town "overlooked retaliation and chose not to impose meaningful discipline on Mr. Pender." Ultimately, the commission ordered that Alston be reinstated.
That didn't stop Brookline's efforts to keep Alston from returning to the department, with officials arguing that the municipality would "be irreparably harmed" by such a move. But a judge Monday rejected the town's motion to block the reinstatement.
"The fact that some members of the Fire Department may be upset at the Commission’s Decision on remand may not be surprising, but it is not irreparable harm," the judge said in his ruling, according to WBZ.
