In a significant victory for military service members’ rights, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has secured a consent decree against the Liberty Central School District for violating the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Announced by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, the district must pay damages and lost wages to U.S. Army National Guard member and teacher John Chewens, who was improperly compensated after his military deployment.
Chewens, who had started teaching at Liberty in the 2016-17 school year, was paid at step 1 of the salary schedule, progressing to step 2 the following year. Deployed in March 2018, he returned to find that Liberty had denied him the salary step increase during his deployment. Despite being ordered to serve in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the district had put his civilian progression on hold improperly, the complaint filed in federal court alleged.
“Our courageous soldiers, who often leave behind their families and loved ones to serve this country, should not return from their military deployments only to find that they have fallen behind in their civilian jobs,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, according to a statement obtained by the
U.S. Attorney’s Office
. Williams also emphasized the commitment of his office to ensure that service members like Chewens are afforded all USERRA guarantees.
The consent decree not only requires Liberty to pay Chewens $10,000 in damages, but it also enjoins the school district from future violations of USERRA. Liberty must incorporate a policy statement that aligns with the act’s provisions, which protect military service members from employment discrimination and ensure continuity in their civilian career wage progression, as per the decree.
Under USERRA, service members whose employment is interrupted by more than 90 days of military service must be reemployed at the pay rate they would have earned if not for their service. The Liberty Central School District, now under the consent decree, is mandated to put into effect the safeguards of the act, recognizing specifically that absences due to military service shall not disrupt the salary advancement of their employed service members.
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