WHAT HEELS: Corporations Stiff Citizen-Soldiers
An increasing number of employers are violating the 1994 Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, and are “willfully” discriminating against service members returning from deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan by not reinstating them in their previous jobs, passing them over for employment or promotions, or docking their seniority, salary and other benefit, several attorneys tell The Washington Times:
Washington lawyer Matthew Tully, who specializes in these cases, said that as the war on terrorism - which relies heavily on National Guard and Reserve units - stretches into its second decade, companies have become more familiar with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
But Mr. Tully, a founding partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC, said some employers have objections with the law and have been upfront with his firm about their failure to re-employ and sometimes even to hire citizen-soldiers. One prime reason is financial. He said, without specifying names, that airline companies have told the law firm that hiring military personnel has resulted in higher labor costs.
"We've seen the number of intentional violations skyrocket in the past three years," he said. …
Mr. Tully said that only about 1 percent of the cases that his office handled in 2004 involved intentional employer violations. Now, however, he estimates that 15 percent to 20 percent of cases processed through his office involve intentional violations.
He also said government statistics could be misleading because many Guard and Reserve members become frustrated with government dealings and pursue their claims through private firms such as his, which can resolve cases more quickly.
He said his firm handled 973 cases in 2008, more than two-thirds of the 1,389 cases that the entire federal government took that year. He estimated that 98 percent of his firm's cases are resolved in less than six months.
So far this year, Defense Department’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve has received 12,600 inquiries from service members about their rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
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