A Florida firefighter has filed a pro se lawsuit against the Iona-McGregor Fire Protection and Rescue District alleging he was passed over for promotion to lieutenant because he is white.

Firefighter Zachary Keegan filed suit yesterday in US District Court for the Middle District of Florida, alleging the district discriminated against him by retaining a Hispanic lieutenant despite his disciplinary and criminal history, thereby preventing a lieutenant vacancy from opening before the promotional list on which Keegan was the next eligible candidate expired.

According to the complaint, Keegan has been employed by the district since November 2015. Quoting from the complaint:

• In 2023, Plaintiff participated in the District’s promotional process for Lieutenant. The District ranked the five highest candidates as Dennis Raden, Curtis Rine, Nick Strong, Plaintiff, and Josh Koza.
• The District promoted Raden in September 2024 and promoted Rine and Strong in December 2024.
• By January 2025, Plaintiff was the highest-ranked remaining candidate on that promotional list, with Koza ranked second.
• The promotional list remained effective until March 3, 2025.
• Under the collective bargaining agreement described by the District, when a Lieutenant vacancy exists the Fire Chief selects from the eligible candidates under the applicable rule-of three procedure. Plaintiff does not allege that placement on the list guaranteed him a promotion.
• Plaintiff alleges instead that the District discriminatorily retained and extended favorable treatment to Lieutenant Alex Gonzalez under circumstances that prevented or delayed a Lieutenant vacancy while Plaintiff’s promotional list remained active.
• Gonzalez had been promoted to Lieutenant in April 2023 from an earlier promotional list.
• Plaintiff alleges that Gonzalez thereafter experienced serious performance, disciplinary, probationary, and criminal-history issues, while the District continued to retain him in the Lieutenant position.
• Plaintiff alleges that Gonzalez failed to complete bis initial Lieutenant probationary period and that the District extended his probation rather than remove him from the Lieutenant position.
• On September 20, 2024, while Gonzalez was on leave, Gonzalez was arrested in Hillsborough County on a domestic-violence charge.
• The District admits that it learned of the September 2024 arrest by February 2025. At that time, Plaintiff’s promotional list was still active and Plaintiff was the highest-ranked remaining candidate.
• The District chose not to take adverse employment action against Gonzalez at that time and instead kept him in Lieutenant status while awaiting the criminal proceeding.
• The District’ s position statement states that it avoided adverse action until after Gonzalez’s scheduled June 2025 jury trial. The District states that Gonzalez was terminated effective June 13, 2025, after a conviction.
• By the time Gonzalez was terminated, Plaintiffs promotional list had expired on March 3, 2025. The District then relied on the expiration of that list as the reason Plaintiff could not be considered for the vacancy resulting from Gonzalez’s separation.
• Plaintiff further alleges that the District knew or had notice of additional misconduct and policy violations involving Gonzalez but repeatedly afforded Gonzalez continued employment, extended probation, or other favorable treatment.
• Plaintiff alleges that the District’s repeated favorable treatment and retention of Gonzalez, a Hispanic/brown employee, despite known performance, probationary, disciplinary, and criminal-history issues, contrasted with the District’s refusal to promote Plaintiff, a white/Caucasian employee who was qualified and at the top of the remaining promotional list by January 2025. Plaintiff alleges that race, color, and/or national origin were motivating factors in the challenged employment decisions and that he lost Lieutenant wages, benefits, seniority, promotional opportunity, and other employment-related compensation.

The suit asserts a single count under Title VII for discrimination based on race, color and national origin arising from the district’s failure to promote Keegan. He alleges the district’s treatment of Lt. Gonzalez, including retaining him despite his disciplinary record, criminal history, and probationary status is evidence that the district’s stated reasons for not promoting Keegan were pretextual.

Keegan is seeking back pay and lost employment benefits, equitable relief including promotion or front pay in lieu of promotion, compensatory damages, costs and attorney’s fees if he later obtains counsel, and other appropriate relief. He has demanded a jury trial.