Mangum v. Town of Holly Springs

Melanie Mangum (plaintiff) worked in various roles for the Town of Holly Springs (the town) (defendant) from 1995 until she became a firefighter in 2006. At the time, the town employed 30 other firefighters, and all of them were men. Before Mangum accepted the firefighter position, she heard from another city employee that the fire department’s engineer, Eric Wood, said that he was not comfortable with Mangum as a female firefighter and would refuse to fight a fire with Mangum on his team. Mangum complained to the fire department chief, Cecil Parker, and eventually, the town’s human-resources director, Parker, and Mangum agreed that Mangum would accept the job on the condition that Mangum and Wood would work different shifts. Mangum was assigned to a smaller fire station that probationary firefighters were normally not assigned to, which she believed deprived her of training and advancement opportunities and limited her engagement with coworkers. Mangum alleged that the town was slow to issue her protective equipment. Mangum also repeatedly complained about her coworkers’ frequent use of foul language, including “mother f-ker, f-ker, c-ksucker, son-of-b-ch, p-ssy, and G-damn.” As a result of her complaints, Mangum was told that she needed to watch her back, and Mangum noticed that even more firefighters began using profanity near her. Ultimately, Mangum took time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) due to her mental anguish over her work environment and need to care for her sick parents. Mangum resigned after her FMLA leave ran out. After exhausting her administrative options with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Mangum then sued the town in federal court. The town moved to dismiss Mangum’s claims.