EAST ST. LOUIS — A military veteran who received an honorable discharge claims he faced discrimination for his military service/deployment when reapplying for the previous position he held for almost 10 years as director of the 911 call center in Jersey County.
William Hedger filed a complaint July 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Jersey County E.T.S.B/E911, and Jersey County, Illinois alleging violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
According to the complaint, Hedger served as the director of the Jersey County E.T.S.B/911 call center for nearly ten years. He alleges that in early 2020, he received military orders for active duty. Hedger notified the defendants of his order and "personally found" a tentative director to serve in his absence. Hedger claims that on Jul 16, 2020, he resigned from his post due to his continued military service.
Then in January 2021, Hedger claims he sought to reapply for his previous director position. He alleges that during his interview for the position he previously held, he was "expected to explain away" his service and his military orders that took him away from the job in 2020. Hedger claims he did not get his previous position back because of his military service. As a result, he suffered loss of employment and benefits as well as embarrassment and humiliation.
Hedger seeks monetary relief, trial by jury and all other just relief. He is represented by Joshua Evans of Greater River Injury Law in Jerseyville and Edward Unsell of The Unsell Law Firm PC in East Alton.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:21-CV-00845-JPG