Florida Chief Claims Termination Was Disability Discrimination

A Florida division chief who was fired in 2022 has filed suit claiming disability discrimination. Walter Ebbert filed suit against the Ocean City Wright Fire Control District. The suit was initially filed in Okaloosa County Circuit Court, and removed by the district to US District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

Chief Ebbert claims he was fired on March 17, 2022, after disclosing combat related disabilities to his bosses in January, 2022. The disabilities as explained in the complaint were:

• traumatic brain injury (TBI) after being exposed to an IED explosion while in Iraq.
• ears ringing, constant headaches, and shoulder, back, and neck pains.
• PTSD…
• ADHD…

The complaint alleges Chief Ebbert was a stellar employee under the prior fire chief, and even took on additional tasks such as serving as fire marshal while also serving as the Division Chief of EMS. However, with the appointment of a new fire chief, his job responsibilities changed and he was subjected to increasing scrutiny. Quoting from the complaint:

• All of these medical/disabling conditions had been dormant until he began to be abused and falsely accused of not performing his job with no help forthcoming.

Chief Ebbert claims his bosses yelled at him, ridiculed him by saying he was not acting as a chief should, that he was offering “excuses” not “solutions”, and told him “to be a man, and to do the job”.  

The complaint alleges disability discrimination under Florida’s disability discrimination law. It also alleges a failure to accommodate Chief Ebbert’s disability as well as a failure to engage in an interactive process to find an accommodation.

Oddly enough, the complaint does not make a claim under the Americans With Disabilities Act, a federal law. As a result it is unclear if the removal will actually be successful. Here is a copy of the original complaint and the removal documentation: