San Francisco City Hall
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge has signed off on a deal to force the city of San Francisco to square up with members of the National Guard, U.S. Armed Forces Reserves and other service members who were also employed by the city and against whom the city allegedly discriminated against for decades, under policies stretching back to the beginning of Gavin Newsom's tenure as the city's mayor.
On Feb. 20, U.S. District Judge Ajay Krishnan granted final approval to the class action settlement in the lawsuit accusing the city of alleged anti-soldier discrimination, in violation of federal law.
The lawsuit dates to 2020, when attorneys from the firms of Outten & Golden, of San Francisco, and The Barton Firm, of Washington, D.C., filed suit in federal court against the City and County of San Francisco, on behalf of named plaintiffs Devon Anderson and Beverly L. Sweeney.
The lawsuit demanded the city pay U.S. Armed Forces service members who worked for the city, but were allegedly mistreated under city policies when they notified supervisors of orders from the military to report for duty or requested leave from work to attend mandatory monthly drills.
The lawsuit asserts the city improperly required them to request leave, when such leave is guaranteed under federal law.
Further, they assert the city refused to credit their service and deployment time when computing wages and pensions earned; denied them accrued sick leave and paid time off for military leave; and were slow to put them back on the schedule when they returned to work following their military service periods, and even allegedly threatening service members with termination or terminating them over their service obligations, in certain circumstances, all of which allegedly violated federal law prohibiting such alleged workplace discrimination and hostility toward members of the U.S. Armed Forces.
According to the lawsuit, the practices and alleged mistreatment have been ongoing within the city government since 2004.
Current California Gov. Gavin Newsom began serving as mayor of San Francisco that year, and continued in that role until 2011. Since then, the alleged discriminatory policies against U.S. military service members continued under Newsom's successors, including former mayors Edwin M. Lee, Mark Farrell and London Breed.
The city, under former Mayor Breed, did not fight the lawsuit.
Rather, the case was referred to settlement talks in the fall of 2020, and talks have continued since, according to court documents.
The settlement doesn't specify how much the city will ultimately spend to settle the case.
However, under the deal, the city has agreed to permanently alter its policies to comply with federal law in how it treats military service members employed by the city.
Further, the city agreed to fully pay all military service members who worked for the city since 2004 any wages, benefits or pension credits they may have been shorted under the former policies.
Under the settlement agreement, attorneys for the plaintiffs have also requested $977,000 in attorney fees for their work on the case.
In a release announcing the settlement in late 2025, attorney Michael Scimone, with the firm of Outten & Golden said: “The settlement ensures that the City of San Francisco’s service member employees will finally receive the pay, benefits, and respect that the law has guaranteed them all along."
The lead plaintiffs in the case also said they welcomed the settlement.
“When I joined the Army Reserves, I never imagined that serving my country would mean fighting for my rights at home,” said Anderson, who serves as a U.S. Army Reserve First Sergeant. "This case was about fairness and ensuring that no service member has to choose between serving their country or making a living.”
“I devoted my career to both the military and the people of San Francisco,” said Sweeney, a retired Army Captain and former nurse with the city's Department of Public Health, who was terminated over a conflict with the city over her military service. “This settlement means that those who serve our nation and our city will finally be treated with the dignity and equality they deserve.”
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said: “The City and County of San Francisco strives to support our military veterans and honor their service to our country. We are pleased that we could come to a mutual resolution that will improve our City’s processes for years to come.”
