OCALA, Fla. — Marion County Fire Rescue division chief of support services says she wasn’t appointed to fire chief because of gender bias, and filed a discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Paul Nevels was appointed fire chief instead of Shari Hall Sept. 1. Hall thinks the only reason she didn’t get the job is because she’s a woman.
“An objective look at the qualifications clearly demonstrates that she’s more qualified than Mr. Nevels is. That leads you to ask the question: ‘Why was she passed over?’” Edwin “Trip” Green, attorney for Hall, told the Ocala StarBanner.
Hall scored better than Nevels in almost all categories during the first round of interviews. She also has more experience than Nevels in EMS, and a higher level of education.
Hall was in charge of EMS for eight years and supervised the transition from a public to private service in 2008.