A federal judge in Alaska has allowed portions of a lawsuit brought by an Anchorage firefighter/EMT alleging military-service discrimination and retaliation to move forward, while dismissing older claims as time-barred.
Chris Keen, a firefighter/EMT with the Anchorage Fire Department, sued the Municipality of Anchorage claiming he was denied promotions because of his military obligations as a member of a United States Air Force Special Warfare unit. According to the complaint, Keen’s military service required repeated leave from the fire department, and he alleged that those absences became a factor when he sought advancement within the department.
The case centers in part on a 2021 letter of counseling issued to Keen regarding work performance. Keen sought to have the letter removed from his personnel file and, in November 2021, asked his union to file a grievance, writing that the letter treated his “limited attendance at work” as a contributing factor even though “almost all of my recent absences (or historical absences) from work were for military service.” He told the union: “I consider this to [be] discriminating and harassing based on my military service.”…