(MPRN-Undated) A federal appeals court says a military reservist deserves for a jury to hear his case against the village of Vicksburg.
David Eichaker says he was denied a promotion and demoted by the police department because of his military deployments. According to the opinion from the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Eichaker was an officer in the Vicksburg Police Department who sometimes served as the acting chief when his boss was away on military reserve duty.
Eichaker was also a reservist who took leaves from his job for military deployments and training, including 14 months following the September 11, 2001, attacks. When the old chief retired, Eichaker applied for the position, but was passed over. Eichaker says he heard his deployments were mentioned as a reason.
He was also billed for health coverage while he was off on a military deployment. And he says he was denied being part of a police escort for the funeral procession of a soldier from Vicksburg killed in Afghanistan. He says the new chief demoted him from lieutenant to sergeant to patrolman before he quit and filed a discrimination claim.
The US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals did not affirm his claim. It said there are enough questions that the case should go to a jury. The court also said the burden is on the village to prove it did not discriminate against Eichaker. Eichaker’s attorney did not return a phone call seeking comment on the decision.
The attorney for the village located south of Kalamazoo declined to comment. The village could ask the appeals court to reconsider the decision, or ask the US Supreme Court to take the case.
