A federal appeals court has sided with an employee who contended that he was reinstated improperly when returning from military duty. While the decision involved a postal employee, the case could have ramifications for executive branch agencies as well because it involves the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the law that governs placement of individuals whose careers are interrupted by military service.
In the case, No. 2007-3238, the employee was seeking compensation for working irregular hours in a part-time position on his return from military service, arguing that he should have been placed in a full-time position with regular hours. During the course of the suit, USPS conceded that he should have been hired directly into a full-time position with higher pay and regular hours.
The Merit Systems Protection Board ruled though that he was not entitled to compensation because would not have had an irregular work schedule if he had been timely appointed to the full-time position to which he was entitled and therefore would not have earned the premium pay he received.
Before the court, the employee argued that he was entitled to compensation because he was denied a benefit of the full-time position: a regular work schedule. The court agreed with him, saying that with regard to that benefit, the employee "was worse off" than employees in full-time positions, and noted that the goal of USERRA is to put returning employees in positions of similar seniority, status and pay compared to the positions they left. One of the elements of status is shift assignment, the court wrote in sending the case back to MSPB to determine how much he is owed.
