Winchester, Virginia Faces Accusations of Discrimination Against Members of the U.S. Armed Forces

If anyone wishes to employ another person, it becomes critical to familiarize oneself with all of the labor laws.  If one makes sloppy decisions about hiring and employment, a person can make serious enemies with people no employer wants to upset. Like, the U.S. Marine Corp, for instance.

Under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), law requires employers to promptly reemploy returning service members.  Not only must employers reemploy returning service members, but they also must offer them positions they would have held had their employment been not interrupted by military service.  If these positions are not available, employers must offer a position of like seniority, status and pay.

Currently, the Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Jon Fultz, a U.S. Marine Corps reservist, against the city of Winchester, Virginia for failing to properly reemploy Fultz in September 2009 when he returned from military service.  Fultz worked for the police department before his military service, but according to the department’s complaint, the city violated USERRA by not reemploying Fultz in his previous pre-service permanent position as a community resource officer assigned to manage its police department’s fleet of motor vehicles.  Employers blamed Fultz’s injured knee for their changing Fultzer’s job position, although Fultzer did not request this special designation.

In February 2010, the city removed Fultz from his position and stopped paying him wages, supposedly because of the city’s concern for Fultz’s safety.  Finally, Winchester terminated Fultz’s employment in October 2010.

This case reminds employers to familiarize themselves with their responsibility as employers and workers to remember their rights that are protected under U.S. Constitutional Law.