Military Personnel File Lawsuits for Training Time

Rochester, NYReservists may not realize that the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA) protects not only people who have been called to active duty, but also those who take a leave for military training,only to come back to their civilian job and find they have been demoted or fired.

USERRA laws were designed to protect people who serve in the military from losing their jobs and also prevent people who are reservists from being discriminated against by being denied promotions.

Reservists who discover that their jobs have been altered or given to someone else entirely can file a lawsuit against their employers.

According to General USERRA information, "USERRA prohibits an employer from denying any benefit of employment on the basis of an individual's membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation for service in the uniformed services. USERRA also protects the right of veterans, reservists, National Guard members, and certain other members of the uniformed services to reclaim their civilian employment after being absent due to military service or training."

An Air Force reservist in New York State filed a lawsuit against the Rochester school district alleging he was demoted from his supervisor position when he took a 10-week leave of absence for military training. The plaintiff returned to work only to learn that his job was being eliminated and he was being demoted to a store clerk with lower pay. According to an article at Newsday.com, the plaintiff received an Air Force summons in August 2006 for specialized military training; however, one of his supervisors advised him that the timing was bad. The plaintiff is seeking reinstatement to his supervisor position.

A discrimination lawsuit has been filed against Greenwich, alleging that five current and former members of the Greenwich Police Department (GPD) were discriminated against because of their military service. The plaintiffs claim that because they are active reservists they were denied promotions to special units, preventing them from earning higher pay and higher ranks. The suit seeks punitive damages and economic losses.

A similar lawsuit was filed in San Francisco, where two police officers filed a lawsuit alleging their status as army reservists was used to discriminate against them in their employment. The plaintiffs allege they were repeatedly denied promotions after they returned from tours of duty in Iraq. The officers seek immediate promotion, back pay unspecified damages for emotional pain and suffering.

USERRA prohibits discrimination based on military service, stating that returning military personnel must be put back "in the position of employment in which the person would have been employed" if military service had not interrupted their employment. The officers seek immediate promotion, back pay, and monetary damages for emotional pain and suffering.

Veterans and reservists who have been summoned to active duty or training have the right to return to the employment they had before they left. Furthermore, if they would have received a promotion, raise, or other benefits if they had not been summoned, they have the right to those benefits as well.