Politics & Government

University Place Man Sues Former Employer For Treatment After He Returned From Deployment

Dave Axtell, for whom federal attorneys opted to file in court, alleges his trucking company wrongfully violated his rights as an Air Force reservist.

The federal Department of Justice filed a lawsuit today on behalf of a University Place who was fired from his trucking shortly after returning from deployment in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Dave Axtell, a U.S. Air Force reservist, is suing against James J. Williams Bulk Service Transport and its parent companies for allegedly violating his rights as a reservist and properly re-employing him after he returned.

The complaint also alleges that the defendants unlawfully terminated Axtell’s employment without cause shortly after he was reemployed.

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JJW is a trucking company that specializes in hauling hazardous materials. Axtell lives in University Place and trucked between the company’s locations in Kalama and Pacific.

According to the department’s complaint — which was filed today in the U.S. District Court in Tacoma — the company violated federal law by not promptly or properly reemploying Axtell in his previous pre-service position as a driver supervisor, or in a position with comparable seniority status and pay.

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The defendants waited three months to reemploy Axtell, according to the complaint, and thereafter employed him in an unsalaried, lower status position requiring longer hours. The defendants terminated Axtell’s employment without cause shortly after reemploying him, also a federal violation, for what the complaint claims were minor violations.

In its lawsuit, the Justice Department seeks the lost wages and benefits that Axtell would have received had he been properly reemployed in his pre-service position as a driver supervisor, as well as damages resulting from the unlawful termination of his employment.

The complaint also seeks double damages because the defendants’ actions constituted a willful violation of the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The case will be litigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office based in Seattle.

“The men and women who wear our nation’s uniform deserve the comfort of knowing that they do not have to sacrifice their civilian employment in order to serve our country,” Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division said in a press release today.

Added Jenny Durkan, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington: “Just as our dedicated men and women of the military protect our freedoms overseas, we must protect their interests here at home. These soldiers have made many sacrifices, and the loss of a career or appropriate pay when they return home, cannot be allowed.”

(A copy of the complaint is included at the top of this story)


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