USERRA Law to be Tested in Court

Kevin Ziober was a lieutenant in the Navy Reserve in 2012 when he received deployment orders to Afghanistan. After co-workers gathered to give Ziober a proper sendoff, he was summoned to the human resources office.

And then he was fired.

Ziober believes the dismissal was the direct result of the inconvenience his military service caused his employer. If so, that would be a violation of federal law.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) exists to protect military reservists against such discrimination.

In 1994, when Congress enacted USERRA, it stated explicitly that veterans and service members cannot waive any of their rights under USERRA, that they have a right to enforce their rights in federal court, and that they cannot be required to arbitrate their USERRA claims.

Ziober’s case will be heard this month by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the highest federal court in California.

Six months into Ziober’s tenure at real estate management firm BLB Resources, he stated that the company asked him and other employees to sign an arbitration agreement in order to remain employed. The agreement was presented to them on a take it or leave it basis. Ziober, like other employees who needed their jobs to support themselves and their families, felt that he had to sign it.

BLB Resources disputes Ziober’s version of the events, saying that his firing became necessary when the federal contract to which he was assigned was not renewed.

Protecting service members from employment discrimination is directly linked to military readiness and the Defense Department’s ability to recruit and retain more than 800,000 part-time troops every year.

“After fighting for our freedom overseas, no service member or veteran should have to fight for their job when they come home,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. “And they certainly shouldn’t be denied their right to their day in court if their federal rights are violated.”

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, and their families.