Military Service Employment Discrimination Cases

Lawyers with the United States Department of Justice (”DOJ”) announced in an October 28, 2009 DOJ Press Release at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/October/09-crt-1163.html that the DOJ reached a settlement resolving its lawsuit on behalf of a former Utah National Guardsman and current Airforce Reservist against Stonescape Pavers LLC.  According to the DOJ Press Release, DOJ lawyers alleged in the case that the company violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (”USERRA”) by terminating the service member during his statutorily protected reemployment time period.  Under the terms of the settlement, embodied in an agreement that has been submitted to the court, the company must provide the plaintiff with $10,000.00 to compensate him for his lost wages and benefits as a result of the company’s actions.  Prior to this announcement, DOJ lawyers had filed the DOJ’s 20th USERRA employment discrimination lawsuit of the year, alleging that a concrete company violated the rights of a Wisconsin Army National Guardsman by failing to properly reemploy him when he returned from active military duty in Iraq.  See, http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/October/09-crt-1130.html . 

The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division has given a high priority to the enforcement of servicemembers’ rights under USERRA.  Additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice Department’s website at http://www.servicemembers.gov/ .