Washington National Guardsman Vindicated by Jury After Job Loss

Jury Finds County Discriminated Against Iraq Vet
Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, Wash.
by Andrew Binion
Mar 18, 2015

TACOMA -- Kitsap County deliberately discriminated against an Army National Guard veteran returning to work in the Fire Marshal's Office and retaliated against him after he filed a complaint by demoting him and passing over him for a promotion, a federal jury decided Monday.

The county's attorney said she disagreed with the verdict in the case of former Deputy Fire Marshal Craig D. Hanson, saying the county's hiring process that Hanson disputed had picked the most qualified candidate for the promotion.

The first trial in August in U.S. District Court in Tacoma ended in a hung jury. In the most recent two-week trial, jurors sided with Hanson in three of nine claims, awarding him about $65,000.

Hanson's attorney, Matt Crotty of Spokane, said the jury's finding that the discrimination and retaliation was "willful" was uncommon and could allow for the doubling of the award.

Hanson, now retired from military service, was a master sergeant in the Washington National Guard and also had served in the Army and Marines. 

He started with the Fire Marshal's Office in March 2007 and left in November 2009 when he was called to active duty. One of his deployments during that time was for a year in Iraq.

He returned to work in the office in December 2012 but claimed in court documents the work environment had turned hostile and resulted in him being demoted. Fire Marshal David Lynam did not return a call for comment left at his office Monday afternoon.
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