Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against the City of Somerville, Massachusetts,
to Enforce the
Employment Rights of a
Marine Corps Reservist
The Department of Justice today announced a settlement which is subject to District Court approval with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Somerville, Massachusetts, resolving claims that the city violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) when it failed to re-employ U.S. Marine Corps Reservist Sean Keane at the level he should have been in following his multiple military deployments, including tours of duty to Afghanistan.
Keane, a firefighter for the city of Somerville since 1989, was
called to active duty military service from April 2, 2004, to Sept. 25,
2013. Following his return from service, Keane took a lieutenant’s
make-up promotional exam to replace the regular administration of the
examination that he missed because of his military service. Keane
received the highest score on the test, which placed him at the top of
the promotional list, ahead of two firefighters who had already been
promoted in July 2013. When Keane was eventually promoted in October
2014, he requested that his promotion be effective as of July 2013, the
date he would have been promoted had he not been away on military
service. He was denied the July 2013 promotion date and, as a result,
was deemed ineligible to take a make-up exam for a captain’s position.
Subject to certain limitations, USERRA requires that service members who
leave their civilian jobs to serve in the military be reemployed by
their civilian employers in the positions that they would have held if
their employment had not been interrupted by military service. Under
circumstances like those here, federal law also requires that a
servicemember be reemployed in a position of comparable seniority, pay
and status so that no opportunities for advancement or promotion are
adversely affected by military service. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-settles-lawsuit-against-city-somerville-massachusetts-enforce-employment
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