Resident plans suit against supervisors
CUMBERLAND TWP. – A township resident has hired an attorney and is preparing to file suit against the supervisors, accusing them of ignoring his status as a military veteran when hiring township workers. Joe Kozlowski says he has the proper job qualifications to be a township worker and as such should have been hired due to his veteran status, in accordance with the Veterans Preference Act.
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Kozlowski served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972 before he left the military with the rank of sergeant.
The Veterans Preference Act calls for public entities to hire a veteran for a public job when the veteran has the requisite qualifications.
“Veterans Preference says if I have the necessary requirements, then they are required to hire me. I didn’t even get an interview,” Kozlowski said.
The supervisors, however, see the issue differently. Supervisor Leroy Baker explained that of the 10 areas listed on the job application, Kozlowski clearly marked “no” to three of them, two of which, Baker said, are essential to performing the work.
“Without that experience, I am sorry but he doesn’t meet the minimum standard requirements for the job,” Baker said.
Baker said Kozlowski’s claims that the board of supervisors refuses to hire veterans are “ridiculous.” He pointed out that township police chief William Lewis served in World War II and retired from the military.
“We (the supervisors) are all veterans, all three of us. Why on earth would we refuse to hire a fellow vet? That’s plain wrong. He simply does not have the necessary work experience,” Baker said.
But, Kozlowski maintains that had the township allowed him to update his application, it would have reflected his real work experience. He noted that the application on file was one he submitted in 1989 and hadn’t been updated since it was filed.
When he learned of the job opening last fall, Kozlowski said, he tried to get the township secretary to allow him to file an updated application, but was denied. Instead, he said, he was directed to hand in a resume that was attached to the application.
Township solicitor Dennis Makel said the supervisors made their decision based on the application, but the board also took into account the attached resume.
He said items discovered on a review of Kozlowski’s resume and in his work history indicated to the board that he didn’t have the necessary qualifications.
Kozlowski is not alone in his challenge of the township’s decision.
He has found support from Amvets General George C. Marshall Post 103 in Hopwood, which has set up a legal defense fund for him.
Amvets member George Britt said a veterans office in Pittsburgh referred Kozlowski to his group.
Calling it a “crime” when unions, municipalities and government agencies do not hire veterans, Britt said his organization is ready to “stand behind any veteran and pledge our support to his cause.”
To date, the Amvets post has raised almost $900 for Kozlowski’s legal defense, Britt said.
Amvets has worked with area veterans on similar cases in the past.
The Hopwood post joined the Fayette County Veterans Association to offer legal counsel to three veterans whom the Laurel Highlands School Board reportedly did not interview for a security-chief job in March 2000.
The school board later eliminated the security position as a cost-cutting measure to balance the 2000-2001 district budget.
However, the school board hired a former Uniontown policeman and military veteran to fill the position for the 2001-2002 school year.
On the recommendation of a number of people assisting his case, Kozlowski hired attorney Michael J. Seymour, the same attorney in the Laurel Highlands case. Seymour could not be reached for comment on the Kozlowski case.