John T wins at Washington State Supreme Court

Veterans and Attorneys John Tymczyszyn and Thomas Jarrard with the Washington State Veterans Bar Association argued and won the below case in the Washington State Supreme Court securing benefits for thousands of veterans and military reservists in Washington State. 

Travis Bearden, a firefighter and paramedic for the City of Ocean Shores, joined the U.S. Army Reserves in 2013. He took periodic absences for military service, receiving paid military leave from the city. The dispute centers on military leave Bearden took between 2019 and 2021. During his first and second leaves from October 2019 to August 2020, Bearden was kept on the schedule and provided paid military leave for his scheduled workdays until his paid leave was exhausted in February 2020. The city then placed him on leave without pay status. For his third leave from August 2020 to May 2021, the city did not provide Bearden any paid military leave for the October 2020-September 2021 military fiscal year, arguing he had no scheduled workdays.

The Washington Supreme Court held that public employees are entitled to 21 days of paid military leave for required military service during each military fiscal year, regardless of whether they are scheduled to work by the employer due to the length of their military service absence. The court emphasized that the statute's plain language and purpose support this entitlement, and the scheduling of workdays does not limit the annual entitlement to paid military leave. The case ruling impacts all veterans and reservists within Washington State working for a public employer such as a city, county or state government within Washington. This landmark case means that thousands of veterans and military reservists will receive increased benefits and pay while deployed. 

https://law.justia.com/cases/washington/supreme-court/2025/103-121-1.html