Army Reservist USERRA Lawsuit

In a press release at http://www.justice.gov , the United States Department of Justice announced that it has reached a settlement, in the form of a consent decree, with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company that, if approved by the U. S. District Court in Oklahoma City, will resolve its lawsuit filed on behalf of a U. S. Army reservist.  According to the March 2, 2010 press release, the Justice Department’s lawsuit charged that the company violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by failing to promptly reemploy the army reservist following his military service.  Under the consent decree, the company must pay the army reservist $40,000 in back wages and other damages.  In addition, the company must supplement its policies at its Lawton, Oklahoma plant to ensure that returning service members are promptly reemployed in accordance with USERRA, and must submit to a period of monitoring by the Justice Department to ensure the company’s compliance with USERRA. 

Subject to certain limitations, USERRA requires employers to reemploy a returning service member in the position the employee would have held had his or her employment not been interrupted by military service.  In this regard, the Department of Justice enforces USERRA and offers additional information about USERRA at http://www.servicemembers.gov .