Veteran fights Air Force for $1 million in employment discrimination case

Correction, Sept. 21, 2022: An earlier model of a headline on this text mentioned David P. Bighia was illegally fired by the Air Force. The Air Force didn’t hearth him, officers rescinded a job provide.

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When armed companies veteran David P. Bighia walked out of the examination room after his pre-employment well being evaluation, he felt assured that he would be capable to begin his dream job as a navy historian at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio.

He had no thought it will result in years of monetary wreck and imminent dwelling foreclosures.

More than eight years after that physician’s appointment, Bighia is preventing the Air Force in an employment discrimination case. A choose has already dominated that the Air Force illegally rescinded a job provide and ordered that department of the navy to pay greater than $1 million in damages.

But Bighia has acquired nothing however a house foreclosures discover from his financial institution. He and his authorized staff are uninterested in ready.

Now 61 and residing in Nebraska, Bighia has been preventing the Air Force, which mentioned it retracted its job provide as a result of officers believed — based mostly on feedback from the doctor on the bodily — that Bighia couldn’t carry out his duties.

But in keeping with case paperwork, Bighia might have served with affordable lodging. An administrative choose on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission mentioned the Air Force’s actions violated the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Bighia’s case in opposition to the Air Force has lasted unusually lengthy. The common processing time for employment discrimination circumstances like this filed between 2013 and 2019 in the U.S. Air Force averaged about two years, in keeping with a Texas Tribune evaluation of federal information.

The Air Force declined to remark for this text as a result of the matter remains to be below adjudication.

What has extended the case is how a lot the Air Force is prepared to pay Bighia, in keeping with his legal professionals. The Air Force has appealed not the choose’s choice that officers illegally retracted Bighia’s job provide, however how a lot it owes him for doing so. The case, authorized specialists mentioned, raises questions on how a lot the federal authorities is on the hook for when it’s discovered responsible of discrimination.

“Just because you violate the law, that doesn’t answer the question of what remedy is appropriate,” mentioned Ryan Nelson, an assistant professor on the South Texas College of Law Houston. “The remedy at issue here appears to be damages. He wants money. But how much does he get?”

After the navy, bankruptcies 

Bighia grew up in a navy household.

In 1981, whereas in faculty, he determined to affix the Army Reserves and started coaching in the reserve officer coaching program. After a number of years in the navy, Bighia tried to comply with in his father’s footsteps and switch to the Air Force. He didn’t wish to fly and rejoined the Army. After 16 years in service between the 2 branches, he determined to depart the navy. He did so with an honorable discharge.

After leaving lively obligation, he went to work as a military historian, a civilian job. Then in 2013, he utilized for the Air Force job, which might have been a promotion.

The father of 5 was provided the brand new Air Force job contingent on a well being screening and different components. Just days after his bodily, the job provide was rescinded.

Bighia was crushed. He struggled personally and financially though he had the assist of his household, he mentioned.

“My wife was extremely patient with me, as were my children … but yet you’re living with someone who’s under a tremendous amount of stress, and the outside forces against your household are incredible,” Bighia mentioned. “It permeates every aspect of your life. … That underlying stress leeches onto your family members.”

Bighia mentioned he fell behind on dwelling mortgage funds and resorted to submitting for chapter as a device to cease foreclosures exercise.

“I don’t have a lot of debt, and I don’t want people to think I have a gambling problem or something like that because I don’t, I have house debt,” Bighia mentioned. The chapter filings primarily stopped any foreclosures proceedings whereas the chapter course of was underway.

Without a supply of earnings, he didn’t qualify for many loss-mitigation applications accessible to him as a veteran and thru his financial institution. The hope was that by submitting for chapter, Bighia would discover work once more and be capable to resume funds, or that the case can be settled or in any other case resolved.

Since the mortgage delinquency got here from a lack of employment and earnings, Bighia tried to work with the Department of Veterans Affairs dwelling mortgage division, which may advocate for veterans on their behalf as dwelling mortgage guarantors.

Bighia’s lawyer, Keith Taubenblatt, intervened on Bighia’s behalf to indicate his collectors that he was anticipating financial aid after the choose’s abstract choice. But failure to obtain funds from the Air Force has kicked that aid farther down the highway.

200 job purposes 

Bighia was alleged to obtain cost from the Air Force earlier this summer time — months earlier than his dwelling was scheduled for foreclosures on Wednesday. The test didn’t arrive in the mail. However, final week the VA intervened, permitting Bighia and his household to remain in their dwelling for the time being.

His authorized staff has no religion in the Air Force, which filed an attraction. His legal professionals have requested for the attraction to be dismissed.

While the case was pending, Bighia utilized to greater than 200 jobs however discovered it more and more tough to land work. His month-to-month incapacity test from the VA — lower than $1,000 — doesn’t go far.

In some situations, he made it by means of the interview course of however was denied employment based mostly on his credit score historical past, which is suffering from bankruptcies following his unemployment.

Each time his hopes have been raised solely to be crushed once more.

“It puts you in a quandary, in a funk,” Bighia mentioned. “You try to paint a good picture to the family and to the spouse: ‘Hey, I’ve got an interview,’ and ‘ooh I’ve got an offer,’ and then ‘oh, I’ve got nothin.’”

As media consideration was raised about Bighia’s case, the Air Force provided him a job in early September. However, he might not qualify for the right safety clearance as a result of harm to his credit score and monetary historical past. Half of all safety clearances in 2020 have been denied for monetary issues.

“It would be ironic, you know,” Bighia mentioned. “You get the job, and you’re there in the office and you’re doing your work, and then you can’t even get an interim clearance because of the financial hardship that they’ve inflicted upon you over the years is now a disqualifying factor to do the job.”

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