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Colorado Army Reservist Claims He Lost Job For Serving

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4) - A Colorado Army reservist claims he lost his job for serving his country. He says he was let go because he attended a weekend drill. But the business tells a very different story.

Anthony Entwistle is a soldier with the Army Reserve. It's a title that required monthly training away from his civilian job at LoDo's Bar and Grill in Westminster.

"I got our full training roster, which had the full physical year, every training date and did give it to them upon hiring," Entwistle said.

Entwistle said despite giving LoDo's ample notice and requesting the time off with an online scheduling system, he learned he'd been let go for job abandonment when he missed a shift.

"Because I did go to my drill duties instead of going to work," he said.

Military members' civilian jobs are protected under a federal law, allowing them to attend required training. But the restaurant says a military commitment is not what cost him his job.

"He was let go because he did not follow our policies and procedures with regard to his schedule," LoDo's manager George Mannion said.

"The only thing I could relate to it was my training was interfering with work," Entwistle said.

LoDo's says it wasn't the first time Entwistle had failed to used the scheduling system properly, but Entwistle says it's the system that failed.

"They claim it never showed up on their end," Entwistle said.

"I have a lot of other military people and we work within their schedules," Mannion said.

The young soldier feels otherwise.

"Apparently in their eyes they did absolutely nothing wrong," Entwistle said.

"We are not going to penalize somebody because they're serving our country," Mannion said.

LoDo's said they would consider giving Entwistle his job back if he goes in and has a conversation with management. Entwistle said he doesn't want his old job back and is going to file a complaint with the Department of Labor.

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