City of Tulsa to pay $500,000 settlement in fire department discrimination case

The City of Tulsa has agreed to pay a $500,000 settlement in a gender discrimination lawsuit filed by two of the highest-ranking women in the Tulsa Fire Department.

Greta Hurt and Julie Lynn filed the lawsuit in 2022, saying they were repeatedly passed over for promotions in favor of less qualified male colleagues and faced retaliation for speaking up.

Hurt, who served in the department for 24 years, said the discrimination started as early as 2019, when she was denied a promotion she believed she had earned.

“I was the most qualified and experienced person for that position,” she told News On 6. “And I was pretty sure I was going to get that position.”

Instead, Hurt said a male officer, Brant Owens, was promoted over her. 

According to the lawsuit, the problems escalated two years later when two Assistant Chief positions opened in 2021.

The suit claims Tulsa Fire Chief Michael Baker and Deputy Chief Brent Goins eliminated the requirement for outside evaluations — a process that was supposed to be in place for high-ranking promotions, according to city policy.

“I spoke out about that, and I ended up having to go to HR,” Hurt said.

Hurt and Lynn were the only two women who qualified and applied for those 2021 Assistant Chief roles. Both were passed over for men with less experience, the lawsuit states. After filing internal complaints, the women say they were ignored and shunned.

In court documents, they allege the department had a pattern of manipulating the process to exclude qualified women.

“Rules were bent or rules were made up just so that certain people could be placed,” Hurt said. “And it discounted those that were qualified and had worked to earn that position. That’s the true definition of discrimination.”

This week, court records show the City of Tulsa filed a Notice of Acceptance agreeing to pay $500,000 to settle the claim.

Hurt, who has since retired, said she’s relieved the process is over — but hopes the case sends a message to city leaders.

“This is really about the people coming after us.”

News On 6 reached out to the Tulsa Fire Department, and they declined to comment. The City of Tulsa emailed the following statement.

"As for the standard settlement language, the judgment does not admit liability of the City but does avoid costs that a trial would potentially incur. Following the settlement conference, the plaintiffs accepted $500,000. Please note this case does not involve a change in TFD’s Administrative Operating Procedures or the ability of the City and the Union to make necessary modifications as they see fit by the use of MOU’s. This was a Title VII case dating back to the August 2021 FD-06 promotional process. Per standard procedure, the Council will be asked to authorize payment of the judgment from the Sinking Fund."