Fire district hit with another lawsuit

Published 1:30 am Friday, October 17, 2025

A former deputy chief with South Whidbey Fire/EMS is now seeking damages from his previous employer.

Jonathan Beck filed the complaint for damages in Island County Superior Court on Oct. 10, according to court documents. The complaint states that Beck faced age-related discrimination and a hostile work environment, among other things.

Fire Chief Nick Walsh declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.

The lawsuit states that Beck, who began his employment with the fire district in 2004, was hired as the deputy chief of operations/training/safety, later becoming deputy chief of Resource Management. He applied for the role of fire chief twice, in 2011 and 2022, but was unsuccessful.

The lawsuit names both Walsh and his predecessor, Rusty Palmer. In 2020, Beck discovered he was at a lower pay grade than expected given his longevity of service to the district, according to the complaint, and he filed a grievance against Palmer, which later disqualified him from being considered for the role of fire chief when Palmer retired.

Beck also applied for an assistant chief role in Ocean Shores, Washington. Though he was one of two finalists for the position, Beck was informed he wouldn’t be considered because Palmer had failed to complete annual performance reviews for him for a decade.

In the complaint, Beck alleged that Walsh failed to investigate or take action against discriminatory age-related comments made by another deputy chief who has since retired. He claimed to have experienced a hostile work environment, created by Walsh through targeted actions, in 2023, which ultimately led to Beck’s resignation later that year.

The lawsuit states that during Beck’s employment he was treated as an exempt employee, which he claimed wasn’t true. Because of this, he made less money than he would have earned as a lower position. He was also asked to perform fire mechanic job duties on the equipment, which were tasks beneath his status as a deputy chief.

Beck is asking for his special and general damages in an amount to be established at trial, for his reasonable attorney fees and costs of suit and for such other and further relief as the court may deem just and equitable, according to the court documents.

This marks the second lawsuit filed this year against South Whidbey Fire/EMS. The first was over a hose cap injury sustained by a man driving his vehicle past a fire engine, according to a previous South Whidbey Record story.