By On behalf of The Law Offices of Roderick V. Hannah, Esq., P.A.

A soldier who was fired from the U.S. Postal Service may be eligible for a settlement of more than a million dollars after winning an extended court battle with his previous employer. The man had alleged that the USPS was guilty of wrongful termination when it fired him; he lost his job in 2000 after administrators determined that he had taken too much time away from work for his military service. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act protects military members – including National Guard members and reservists – from employment discrimination based on their active-duty status.

At the time, the 50-year-old soldier thought that the USPS was joking. He knew that he had rights under the aforementioned act, so he decided to file a civil suit against the organization. Now, after more than seven years in court, the man has finally won the legal battle surrounding his unfair dismissal.

Official reports show that the man joined the National Guard shortly after taking a job at a post office in Florida in 1988. He had been an active-duty soldier before transferring into the Army Reserve and finally the National Guard. The man’s specified qualifications as a Green Beret led to a heftier time commitment than the traditional “two weeks a year, one weekend a month” obligation required of most reservists. The man was consequently deployed during a variety of conflicts during the 1990s, including Operation Desert Storm and other worldwide locations. Throughout this time, USPS supervisors pressured the man to choose between the military and the postal service. The man was finally let go from the USPS, and he eventually returned to active duty.

Experts say that this is one of the most intensely litigated cases related to military workplace discrimination by the federal government.

Even those entities that are supposed to serve the best interests of the American people – including the post office – can make serious wrongful termination mistakes. Victims of this type of unlawful discrimination may be entitled to financial damages because of their mistreatment in the workplace. Qualified employment attorneys may be able to help these victims by providing them with the information and assistance they need to exercise their rights.

Source: The Fayetteville Observer, “Fort Bragg soldier wins settlement against U.S. Postal Service for wrongful termination” Drew Brooks, Jan. 10, 2014

Source: http://www.rhannahlaw.com/blog/2014/01/soldier-wins-wrongful-discharge-case-from-us-postal-service.shtml