USERRA Works for Marine Reservist

While Marine Corps reservist Lt. Col. Steve Duarte of Littleton, Colo., was employed by Agilent Technologies, he was mobilized from Oct. 2001 to April 2002 and again from Nov. 2002 to July 2003. Upon his return the second time, he was assigned to a special project, and four months later he was laid off in a “restructuring move.” Under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act of 1994, reservists called to active duty must give timely notice to their employers when they leave and return, and cannot be gone for more than five cumulative years. If they meet these requirements, employers must give them their former positions or positions of equal pay and responsibility for at least six months or one year, depending on the length of active duty. A federal court found that Agilent Technologies had wrongly terminated Duarte, and awarded him nearly $500,000.