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Linda is a reservist in the Coast Guard. She’s told her supervisor, Charlie, that her membership in the reserves will require that she be absent from work one Friday per month to participate in authorized training duties. Charlie wants to demote Linda to a position with fewer responsibilities because Charlie believes that Linda’s reserve duties "will distract her from her responsibilities at the company." What should you tell Charlie? |
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Answer: |
Tell Charlie he can’t demote Linda because of her Coast Guard duties. She is protected by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act of 1994 (USERRA). USERRA prohibits employment discrimination because of past, current or future military obligations. This ban on discrimination applies to any position of employment and extends to hiring, promotion, reemployment, termination and any "benefit of employment."
Any "benefit of employment" means any advantage, profit, privilege, gain, status or interest flowing from an employment relationship, including fringe benefits and even opportunities to select work hours or location of employment.
If an employee or applicant’s past, present or future connection with the uniformed services is merely a motivating factor in the employer’s adverse employment action against the employee or applicant, the employer has violated the law. In other words, unless Charlie can prove that he would have demoted Linda for a reason other than her upcoming military obligation, demoting her would violate USERRA.
Source: When Duty Calls; Military Leave and Veterans’ Rights, published by CCH Incorporated. |
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