Jury says soldier wrongly fired over deployment
May 2, 2012, 6:51 AM | Updated: 7:57 am
A Washington National Guard sergeant who says she was fired for deploying to Iraq has won a lawsuit against her former employer, Catholic Community Services.
A federal jury in Seattle awarded Grace Campbell $485,000 in damages.
“I think it’s a fair and good verdict. It recognized the situation that she had to go through and gives her justice for the circumstance,” said her attorney James Beck.
It’s illegal for employers to retaliate against guard members for their service. The jury said the charity wrongly fired Campbell after learning she would deploy to Iraq in 2008.
Catholic Community Services said in a statement Tuesday that her termination was not related to her deployments. The agency said she was fired because she violated agency and client confidentiality policies.
Campbell worked for Catholic Community Services for a decade. She served with the National Guard’s 81st Brigade for 23 years before retiring in 2011.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
