FIRE CHIEFS SETTLEMENT

The Pensacola News Journal is reporting that the city of Pensacola settled discrimination and retaliation lawsuits filed by the city’s former fire chiefs for $575,000 in November. Former Interim Fire Chief Matthew Schmitt and Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Glover filed lawsuits in 2016 alleging their firings earlier that year were in retaliation for filing a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The settlement was finalized the day before the city elected Grover Robinson as its new mayor. The city’s insurance covered the settlement, minus the city’s $50,000 deductible. Glover received $302,500, and Schmitt received $272,500.