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Washington, D.C. – Michael Vahey, a United States Army Veteran, has had his rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) violated by General Motors Corp. (GM). Mr. Vahey’s case is part of an ongoing problem that has surfaced since the beginning of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan:
In July 2005, Mr. Vahey, a GM Engineer, enlisted in the United States Army after being granted a Military Leave of Absence from GM, contingent upon his return in four years. During his tour of duty, Mr. Vahey kept in periodic contact with GM, notifying his superiors of his intention to return to work as soon as his period of service was over. Upon his Honorable Discharge in July 2009, Mr. Vahey made a timely and proper application for reemployment with GM in compliance with USERRA. Although Mr. Vahey was rehired on July 20, 2009, he was given no specific position. When the Wilmington, Delaware, Assembly Plant at which he had worked prior to his military service closed twelve days later, GM terminated Mr. Vahey’s employment and gave him a six-month severance package.
A principal aim of USERRA is to prevent citizen soldiers from being disadvantaged in their civilian careers due to their military service. One of the primary mechanisms by which this is achieved is known as the “escalator principle,” pursuant to which a service member is entitled to be reemployed in the position s/he would have occupied had s/he never left for service. This includes all promotions and increases in pay and benefits that would have accrued but for the employee’s absence. There is no evidence that GM made any effort to identify an escalator position for Mr. Vahey or gave him any reasonable opportunity to do so himself.
USERRA also prohibits the discharge of a returning service member from his or her employment for a specific period of time, in Mr. Vahey’s case one year, except for cause, which did not exist in Mr. Vahey’s case.
It further appears that not all employees at the Wilmington Plant were severed. Therefore, had Mr. Vahey not been absent for over three years of military service leading up to the plant closure announcement, he likely would have been able to transfer to another plant. Under these circumstances, Mr. Vahey’s military service plainly disadvantaged him in this civilian career, the very result that USERRA was designed to prevent.
GM’s response to settlement attempts has been that by signing the severance agreement, Mr. Vahey released GM from its obligations under USERRA, even though USERRA is never mentioned in that agreement. GM legal counsel has suggested that Mr. Vahey submit his resume to GM and that GM would consider him for a new position, assuming one was available.
“I understand that these have been trying times for GM and there are many issues on its plate besides the rights of its military-veteran employees. However, it is clear to me that as a result of GM’s efforts to reorganize and streamline in order to become more competitive, Mr. Vahey’s rights have been trampled. A company in which the citizens of the United States own a majority share should be scrupulous in the protection of those who have answered the call to service of this country,” said veterans’ rights attorney Steven Herrick, Managing Partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC in Washington, D.C. and counsel to Mr. Vahey.
Mr. Herrick and Mr. Vahey are available to discuss this case. To speak with them or to learn more about USERRA please contact Jessica Brociek at 202-787-1900 or via email at jbrociek@tullylegal.com.
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