2016 February FIVE YEARS AGO: Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against the City of Somerville,

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

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