Iraq war vet settles discrimination case against Tacoma college where she once taught

Bates Technical College has settled a lawsuit brought by a former instructor who alleged she was discriminated against because of her military service.

The school agreed to pay Nerissa Del Rosario $335,000 without admitting liability, her attorneys said in a statement this week.

Pierce County Superior Court records show the agreement was finalized March 26.

Bates said in a statement Thursday: “The college recently settled a tort lawsuit in which a former employee alleged that the college did not correctly follow federal veterans’ preference requirements when she returned to work after time spent on active duty. While the college disputes the Plaintiff’s allegations, it considers this matter adequately resolved by the settlement.”

Del Rosario alleged that Bates offered her positions of lower status and for lower pay than her peers when she returned from deployments with the Air Force Reserve.

She also accused the school of retaliating against her for filing complaints.

Bates violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the Family Medical Leave Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination, the lawsuit alleged.

According to the lawsuit and the news release from her attorneys, Matt Crotty and Thomas Jarrard:

Del Rosario started working at the school in 1999 and received tenure in 2003.

“Following the events of 9/11 and the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the active duty military began to rely more heavily on reservists, like Ms. Del Rosario, to fulfill its growing obligations,” the release from her lawyers said.

She was a tenured web design instructor when the Air Force Reserve mobilized her from January 2004 to May 2006. Part of that mobilization was a combat tour in Iraq, which involved facilitating the return of fallen soldiers to the United States.

“Processing the remains and personal belongings of deceased U.S. service members had a profound effect on Ms. Del Rosario’s life and ultimately resulted in her being diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” the release said.

She said that Bates offered her lesser jobs than the tenured teaching position when she returned from that mobilization and others that followed.

The last of those jobs was a human resources position, in which her supervisor’s behavior allegedly exacerbated Del Rosario’s PTSD.

She asked the school to accommodate her disability by moving her to the teaching faculty. Bates didn’t, and she resigned in September 2017 and took a lower-paying job with a two-hour commute each way.

This story was originally published April 4, 2019 at 5:08 PM.