Trial Date Set for Suit Over Playboy Ban at Fire Station

A federal judge set a trial date for a lawsuit filed by a Los Angeles County fire captain against his department over a ban on Playboy and other adult magazines.

County Fire Department Capt. Steve W. Johnson, with the backing of the American Civil Liberties Union and Playboy, filed a lawsuit last December in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging that his First Amendment rights are being abridged by a policy that prevents him from reading what he wants at his Antelope Valley fire station.

County fire officials issued a sexual harassment policy in July, 1992, banning sexually oriented publications from all work locations, including dormitories, restrooms and lockers. The policy was designed to prevent a sexually charged environment in fire stations.

U. S. District Court Judge Stephen V. Wilson decided Thursday to let a jury resolve the issue and set a June 7 trial date.

“I think it’s going to be a precedent-setting case that will provide guidelines in the workplace,” Johnson said during a telephone interview Thursday. “We need sexual harassment guidelines without giving up our constitutional rights.”

Les Tolnai, a senior deputy for the Los Angeles County counsel, who is representing the Fire Department in the lawsuit, said the department enacted the rule to prevent female firefighters from filing sexual harassment claims caused by hostile work environments.

“Fire stations provide minimal privacy,” Tolnai said. “So reading publications with nude photographs is the same as displaying nude photographs, which would create a hostile work environment.”