USERRA Protects Military Personnel

By Valentine HR Partners on May 3, 2018 • ( 0 )

Here are HR legal and compliance issues you need to know:

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Company pays over $350,000 to former employee because its
termination of the employee violated the legislation that
protects military personnel.
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Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
of 1994 (USERRA) is a federal law that protects employees
from discrimination as a result of their military service.

Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (NSRC) violated USERRA when
it discharged one of its conductors who satisfied his
obligations to the Tennessee Army National Guard.

Kelly Hance was a conductor for NSRC and a member of the
Tennessee Army National Guard. Hance requested and was
granted a transfer to a new division of NSRC.

Hance reported to Rick Webster, his new supervisor, and
brought with him a representative from the National Guard,
who told Webster that Hance would be leaving for a 2-week
summer military training later that month.

Webster became hostile and angry toward Hance and the
military representative. Webster refused to accept
paperwork related to Hance’s military training, and
ordered Hance to travel on the dates of his military
training. Hance refused the assignment as he was
scheduled for summer camp during that period and NSRC
dismissed Hance for insubordination.

Hance sued NSRC alleging that it discharged him in
violation of USERRA. At issue was whether Hance
established that his military service was a motivating
factor in NSRC’s decision.

After hearing the evidence, the court entered a verdict
for Hance and ordered NSRC to reinstate Hance to his prior
position and awarding him back pay, lost benefits, and
interest in the amount of $352,845.

At the trial, one of the tactics that NSRC attempted was
to argue that Webster did not have authority to terminate
Hance. Therefore, Webster’s anti-military animus could
not be imputed to NSRC. The court rejected this notion
based on the past practice of NSRC in which supervisors
were given authority to terminate employees.

The court concluded from the evidence that discriminatory
motivation could be “reasonably inferred from a variety of
factors,” including:
#1 The proximity in time between Hance’s military activity
and his discharge,
#2 The express hostility shown toward Hance by Webster,
and
#3 Hance’s status as a uniformed service member.