For decades, Scott Phillips-Gartner served as a member of Norfolk Fire-Rescue, first as a 911 operator and later as an assistant fire marshal and bomb squad technician.
But then in October 2014 he married his longtime boyfriend, leading his bosses to find out he was gay.
Phillips-Gartner, 55, says the department ultimately stripped him of his rank and directed him to start working out of a temporary facility miles away from his usual office “with little to no job duties.”
“This was not the way he wanted to leave,” said attorney Barry Montgomery, explaining his client retired earlier this year amid threats he’d be fired if he didn’t. “It was humiliating.”
Phillips-Gartner is suing the city of Norfolk, accusing the department of creating a hostile work environment.