State Reemployment Rights and Laws for Service Members

1st Lt. Brandon Ratliff,USAR worked at the Columbus City Health Department before being deployed to Afghanistan for nine months. He is the recipient of the Army Commendation Medal but that was not enough for the Columbus Health Department. He did not have his promotion or his job upon his return from deployment. Five months later he committed suicide.Read the appeals decision on page three

Western Pennsylvania USERRA Case Schedule to Federal Court Now Settled

Servicemember was later killed in Iraq. More on Page 4

Tell it to the SeaBees!

A Petty Officer Second Class notified his employer of impending deployment. The employer took two hours to fire the Navy Reservist. He left for Iraq on March 9, 2007

A Petty Officer First Class, A school Teacher who is just a few courses short of masters of his Masters Degree will not be getting tenure. He is now deployed in Iraq as of early March 2007

Both Naval Reservist reside in Southwest Ohio.

Cleveland Plain Dealer an Article "Jobs: Casualties of war" by Brian Albrecht, published in the Saturday, March 10th 2007 Edition. Read the Article Here

Need assistance in finding military legal help? The following link will give you contacts for Armed Forces Legal Assistance.

Read It here Download the passed bill here

Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., to Defend Employment Rights of Air Force Veteran

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ --
The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Sean Thornton, a former airman with the United States Air Force, against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., (Wal-Mart) alleging violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in Orlando, Fla., alleges that Wal-Mart violated USERRA by failing and refusing to reinstate Thornton to his civilian employment position as a cashier at a Wal-Mart store in Orange City, Fla., after he was discharged by the Air Force. Subject to certain limitations, USERRA requires that individuals who leave their jobs to serve in the United States military be reemployed by their civilian employers in the same position that they would have held had they not left to serve in the military.
"No person should be disadvantaged in the workplace for serving our country in the military," said Grace Chung Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice remains committed to fully protecting the employment rights of individuals who serve in the armed services."
The Justice Department's lawsuit was filed after the Veterans' Employment and Training Service of the Department of Labor referred a complaint filed by Mr. Thornton under USERRA to the Justice Department upon completion of its investigation and unresolved settlement efforts. USERRA provides that the Department of Justice may appear on behalf of, and act as attorney for, persons whose complaints are referred to Department of Justice by the Department of Labor.

May 23, 2008

Ohio Houses Pass Senate Sub Bill 289 and Gov. Strickland Has Signed the Bill. It will become Law in 90 days
With element of Senator Boccieri’s SB 176 in it the Ohio House of Representatives was inserted. The Minority leader Senator R. Miller mentioned SB 176 upon the concurrence of the passage Sub Bill 289. Senate Bill176 was in committee for 1 year.Ohio is fouth in USERRA Claims only Califormia, Texas and South Carolina have more claims.

Sub. S.B. 289*
127th General Assembly
(As Reported by H. State Government and Elections)
Sens.
Spada, Harris, Stivers, Grendell, Schuler, Schuring, Seitz, Padgett, Fedor, Niehaus, Austria, Mumper, Cates, Sawyer, Wilson, Kearney, Boccieri, Cafaro, Carey, Faber, Goodman, D. Miller, Roberts, Schaffer, R. Miller, Smith, Morano

BILL SUMMARY
Department of Veterans Services
· Creates the Department of Veterans Services and the Director of Veterans Services.
· Transfers the duties of the Governor's Office of Veterans Affairs and the Director of the Governor's Office of Veterans Affairs to the Department and its Director.
· Transfers the duties of the Ohio Veterans' Home Agency and its Board of Trustees to the Department and its Director.
· Places the Ohio War Orphans Scholarship Board under the Department.
· Creates additional functions for the Department and the Director relating to various veterans' issues and to county veterans service commissions and county veterans service officers.
· Requires a state agency or instrumentality, an agency or instrumentality of a political subdivision, or a private entity to report a person's veteran status to the Director when the agency, instrumentality, or entity finds out this information.
Employment rights for persons in uniformed services
· Provides that a person whose absence from a position of employment is necessitated by reason of service in the uniformed services or in the Ohio organized militia has the same reinstatement and reemployment rights in this state that a person has under the "Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994."
· Provides that a person who is denied such a reinstatement or reemployment right has a cause of action for the same remedies as a person has under the "Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994" and provides that the court of common pleas or, if the defendant is the state, the court of claims has exclusive, original jurisdiction in those actions.
· Allows the court to award to a plaintiff who prevails in any action or proceeding to enforce such a reinstatement or reemployment right reasonable attorney's fees, expert witness fees, and other litigation expenses.
· Prohibits the court from requiring the plaintiff to reimburse the state for attorney's fees if the plaintiff does not receive a favorable judgment from the court in an action or proceeding.
· Requires the court of common pleas to place actions to enforce reinstatement or reemployment rights under the bill first in order for trial and, if the court assigns for trial the cases triable to a jury, in a series, in the order in which they stand upon the docket and requires the court to give preference to such actions.
Reinstatement and reemployment rights of members of the uniformed services
Under existing law, the determination of reinstatement and reemployment rights of permanent public employees and permanent private employees in the uniformed services is made in accordance with the "Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994," 108 Stat. 3149, 38 U.S.C.A. 4301, et seq. (R.C. 5903.02(A)).  The Director of Administrative Services is required to adopt rules for the implementation of R.C. Chapter 5903. (R.C. 5903.02(B)).  Existing law also provides that any person who, at the time of holding an office or position in the public service, enters the uniformed services is entitled to reinstatement in accordance with the "Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994" (R.C. 124.29).
The bill repeals R.C. 124.29 and provides that any person whose absence from a position of employment is necessitated by reason of service in the uniformed services or in the Ohio organized militia has the same reinstatement and reemployment rights in Ohio that a person has under the "Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994."[2]  A person who is denied a reinstatement or reemployment right has a cause of action for the same remedies as a person has under the "Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994."  The court of common pleas, notwithstanding any sum limitation established by decision of a board of county commissioners pursuant to R.C. 2305.01, has exclusive, original jurisdiction for such actions, unless the defendant is the state, in which case the court of claims has exclusive, original jurisdiction.  (R.C. 5903.02(B).)
A person who seeks reinstatement or reemployment rights with the state, pursuant to the above described provisions, may bring an action in the court of claims pursuant to the provision of the bill discussed above and below or section 4323 of the "Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994" (R.C. 5903.02(C)).  Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code, court costs may not be charged against any person claiming such reinstatement or reemployment rights (R.C. 5903.02(D)).
In any action or proceeding to enforce reinstatement or reemployment rights, the court may award to a plaintiff who prevails in such action or proceeding reasonable attorney's fees, expert witness fees, and other litigation expenses.  If the plaintiff does not receive a favorable judgment from the court in that action, the court cannot require the plaintiff to reimburse the state for attorney's fees.  (R.C. 5903.02(E).)
Under the bill, the Director of Administrative Services is required to adopt rules in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act for the implementation of the above described provisions with respect to persons in public service (R.C. 5903.02(F)).
Under existing law, whoever violated R.C. 5903.01 (the definitional section for R.C. 5903.02) and 5903.02 (existing law's provisions for the reinstatement and reemployment rights discussed above) could be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.  The bill removes R.C. 5903.01 from this penalty provision.  (R.C. 5903.99.)
Order of hearing cases
Existing law requires that actions for wages must be first in order for trial.  The bill requires that actions regarding the reinstatement and reemployment rights discussed above also must be first in order for trial.  (R.C. 2311.07.)
Assignment of cases
Existing law provides that the court may assign for trial the cases triable to a jury, in a series, in the order in which they stand upon the docket, giving preference always to actions for wages and cases not triable to a jury, in a series in like manner.  All other cases must be heard in the order in which they stand upon the trial docket, unless the court directs otherwise.  The bill states that the court must also give preference to actions regarding the reinstatement and reemployment rights discussed above.  (R.C. 2311.08.)
Court of claims
The court of claims is a court of record and has exclusive, original jurisdiction of all civil actions against the state permitted by the waiver of immunity contained in R.C. 2743.02 (R.C. 2743.03(A)(1)).  The court of claims also has exclusive, original jurisdiction as described in R.C. 2743.02(F) (civil action against a state officer or employee in certain specified circumstances) and R.C. 3335.03(B) (actions against the Ohio State University Board of Trustees).  The bill provides that the court of claims also has exclusive, original jurisdiction in actions where a person seeks reinstatement or reemployment rights with the state.  (R.C. 2743.03(A)(3).)
Under the bill, if a person brings an action in the court of claims pursuant to the provisions discussed above or section 4323 of the "Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994," the clerk of the court of claims must give the action priority on the court of claims' docket (R.C. 2743.091).
Definitions
Under existing law, R.C. 5903.01 defines for use in R.C. 5903.02 "permanent public employee," "public employment," "public employer," "position," "permanent private employee," "private employer," "service in the uniformed services," and "uniformed services."  The bill repeals R.C. 5903.01 and provides definitions for "permanent public employee," "service in the uniformed services," and "uniformed services" in R.C. 5923.05 (provides that permanent public employees are entitled to paid military leave) that are identical to the definitions in R.C. 5903.01 and provides that those terms as used in R.C. 3319.13 (leave of absence for teachers and regular nonteaching school employees) have the same meaning as in R.C. 5923.05.  The bill provides that as used in R.C. 5903.02 "uniformed services" and "service in the uniformed services" have the same meanings as in the "Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994."  (R.C. 3319.13, 4112.01, 5903.01, 5903.02, and 5923.05.)

The bill now amendeds ORC 4112 to include military service as a class protected from employment discrimination.

A Returning Puerto Rican Soldier Finds " No Refuge"

A returning soldier who was wounded in the line of duty in Operation Enduring Freedom, Jolo, with the Joint Special Task Force-Pacific, returned to his wife and new born and tried to return to employment  as security director at Goya Foods of Puerto Rico.  According to the complainant, the Company's VP and General Manager stated that, “Goya is not a refuge for soldiers.”  The soldier’s nickname had become “carne de canon” or canon meat by management . Welcome home. I have attached his federal complaint . A check of DOL documents show that Goya of Puerto Rico has been debarred from any contract with the federal government since 2002 for failing or refusing to comply with the requirements of the Executive Order, Section 503, and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, (VEVRAA). From what I read the debarment was until Goya complies with the act.

Military Job Board

Military.com has a very good job board that is a great resource for you. Here is the link

VetJobs.com

Vetjobs has a good job site for employment run by the VFW