A former Palo Alto Fire Department employee is claiming that the city officials had discriminated against her based on her race and gender before she was fired in 2022.

AnnaBella Gonzalez, a former administrative assistant in the Fire Department, claims in a court filing that she was disciplined by the department after she wrote a letter to Human Resources in 2019 complaining about Fire Chief Geoffrey Blackshire, who at the time was serving as interim chief.

She claims that after issuing that letter she began to receive formal work reprimands that she claimed were "untrue and unhelpful." She was also suspended for three weeks in August 2021 for alleged "unsatisfactory work performance" and "poor judgment," according to the complaint that was filed earlier this month at Santa Clara County Superior Court.

Gonzalez claims in the complaint that the suspension had nothing to do with her performance but was based on her being a woman of Latina origin. She is suing the city for discrimination, for a hostile work environment and for failure to prevent harassment.

The lawsuit claims that as a result of her firing, Gonzalez "has suffered and continues to suffer physical and mental anxiety and distress."

"As a further direct and proximate result of Defendants' termination of Plaintiff's employment because of her gender and national origin, plaintiff has lost salary, wages and other employment-related benefits in a sum to be proven at trial," the complaint states.

Gonzalez also claims in the court filing that her supervisors and upper management knew about the harassment but did nothing to stop it. Gonzalez is seeking more than $25,000, according to the complaint

When asked about the allegations, City Attorney Molly Stump said the city does not comment on personnel or litigation matters.