51黑料

She told him so about three years before he got fired. Hunter is an advocate with the Army鈥檚 . Based at Fort Leonard Wood, she works with veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. A few years back, she was working with King to help him get a service dog.

King had come back from Afghanistan with PTSD, after doing a tour with the Illinois National Guard. It was his second time in uniform, having served in the Missouri National Guard previously. King had been working for since 2010, but when he came back from his tour he struggled to stay on task. When he was medically retired from the Army, he probably could have quit his job and lived on disability. But work was important to him.

鈥淚 just wanted to do my job,鈥� King says. Hunter helped him get Hoss, an English chocolate lab trained as a service dog for veterans. His employers moved him to a new job delivering mail and doing other small tasks at one of the Missouri American Water plants in 51黑料.

But he kept having trouble with a supervisor. Hunter predicted it would happen.

鈥淥nce soldiers return home, people expect them to be normal,鈥� Hunter says. 鈥淲ell, their brains have been altered by that period of being on high alert. There鈥檚 a lot of misunderstanding about PTSD. We find that still.鈥�

Hunter had counseled plenty of veterans who worked for employers who talked a good game about hiring veterans but struggled to adapt to their disabilities.

So it was for King. He got Hoss in 2016. His supervisor kept making life difficult for him, he says. He was fired in 2018, when his supervisor accused him of following her on the highway on the way into work and scaring her. He says he was just trying to buy her a cup of coffee at the gas station.

King sued in 2019. His first judge granted summary judgment in Missouri American Water鈥檚 favor. King鈥檚 attorney, Jerry Dobson, appealed. The Missouri Appeals Court sent the case back to 51黑料 Circuit Court to be heard. On Friday, a jury awarded King $700,000 in damages related to the hostile work environment he experienced.

It鈥檚 been a long, 7-year battle for King, and it might not be over, if Missouri American Water appeals. The company didn鈥檛 respond to requests for comment. King, 57, mostly stays to himself at home in Murrayville, Illinois, these days. Hoss is still by his side but getting up in years.

Getting fired 鈥渃rushed me,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 worked at that company for almost 20 years. For the most part I never had any issues. I鈥檓 used to working every day.鈥�

Hunter says King鈥檚 story is far too common in the workplace these days. Many veterans don鈥檛 realize they have PTSD until years after they return from their service. And because it鈥檚 an unseen disability 鈥� as compared to a severed limb, for instance 鈥� it is difficult for both the veterans, and their employers, to manage.

Hunter鈥檚 job is often to work first to change attitudes in the Army about PTSD, and then to work to change it in the workplace, as well.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of misunderstanding about PTSD,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e find that still.鈥�

The irony of King鈥檚 case, his attorney points out, is that at least one supervisor at Missouri American Water understood the nature of King鈥檚 struggles.

鈥淵es, he has a condition,鈥� the supervisor wrote to other managers in 2017. 鈥淣o, it is not apparent. A missing limb is apparent, but what happened to Ray is not. Yes, his condition is still as real as a missing limb, and we must accommodate it accordingly.鈥�

The supervisor went on to ask his employees what it would be like to explain their actions to a jury of King鈥檚 peers, with King and Hoss sitting in front of the jury and them explaining that 鈥渋t just wasn鈥檛 fair for the disabled war veteran to be given a break.鈥�

That prediction, like Hunter鈥檚 before it, came true. The jury sided with King.

鈥淚鈥檓 shocked that Missouri American Water was so callous to Ray after all the sacrifices he had made for his country and his family,鈥� Dobson says. 鈥淲hy would they treat a veteran in this manner? They seemed to have no sympathy or empathy for him whatsoever.鈥�

During this ordeal, King has connected to other disabled veterans, and realized he is not alone in his challenges and battles. He hopes his case helps other employers do a better job of , but the entire experience still leaves him asking a vexing question with no clear answer:

鈥淗ow do we get help to remove the monsters in our head?鈥�