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Monday, March 16, 2009

Ind. Courts - DOJ Files Lawsuit Against Indianapolis Law Firm to Enforce the Employment Rights of Indiana Army National Guardsman [Updated]

A press release today from the U.S. Department of Justice:

WASHINGTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis on behalf of Mathew B. Jeffries, an Indiana National Guard member, against the Indianapolis law firm of Mike Norris & Associates, alleging that the law firm refused to promptly reemploy Jeffries in violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).

Subject to certain limitations, USERRA requires that individuals who leave their jobs to serve in the U.S. military be timely reemployed by their civilian employers in the same position, or in a comparable position to the position that they would have held had they not left to serve in the military.

In February 2003, Jeffries, a staff attorney with Mike Norris & Associates, was called to active duty and deployed to serve in Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq. Upon his completion of active duty in April 2004, Jeffries contacted Mike Norris & Associates to seek reemployment. The firm refused to reemploy him, so Jeffries filed a complaint with the Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS). VETS investigated the matter, determined that Jeffries' claim had merit and, upon completion of conciliation efforts, referred the matter to the Department of Justice.

"The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act protects men and women from being disadvantaged in their civilian careers because of their service in the armed forces," said Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Civil Rights Division is committed to vigorously enforcing federal laws that protect the employment rights of men and women who are serving in the military."

The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice has given a high priority to the enforcement of service members' rights under USERRA.

[Updated 3/17/09] Jon Murray has this story this morning on the front-page of the Indianapolis Star. Some quotes:
In most cases, citizen soldiers have their jobs protected under U.S. law. But the rare lawsuit, filed Monday by the Department of Justice, says Mathew B. Jeffries' law firm refused to re-employ the bankruptcy attorney upon his return in 2004 after more than a year on active duty, mostly in Iraq.

Filed in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, the suit targets Mike Norris & Associates, where Jeffries had worked until his activation in February 2003. Mike Norris declined to comment. * * *

The Justice Department gets involved only after other efforts, including complaints through the U.S. Department of Labor, have failed. Nationwide, the agency has filed six other lawsuits under the law this year.

Jeffries, who now practices law in Evansville, could not be reached for comment Monday.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 16, 2009 05:07 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts