California Employment Attorney: Afghan War Veteran Sues Employer for Job Loss

12/05/2011 // San Francisco, CA, USA // Keller Grover LLP // California Employment Attorney Jeffrey Keller

Seattle, WA (California Employment Attorney News) — In a case highlighting some of the recent battles Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are facing after coming home from war, an Air Force reservist was forced to bring legal action against his former employer, after it refused to give the veteran his job back before terminating him without cause, reports the California employment attorneys at Keller Grover LLP.

According to MyNorthwest.com, Air Force reservist Dave Axtell returned home to Washington after fighting in Afghanistan, only to find that his driver supervisor position was no longer available to him.

Axtell was called into active duty in 2005, prompting to him to leave his long-time trucking job at James J. Williams Bulk Service Transport. Axtell returned from Afghanistan in 2009, believing he would return to a similar position—as he claims he was promised before he left to fight for our country.

The new manager at the trucking company informed Axtell that he could apply for another job at a much-lower paying position. Axtell took the non-salaried driver’s position with longer hours, as he needed the money. But, Axtell says he was fired within a few months without any real reason for the termination, reports San Francisco employment lawyer Jeffrey Keller.

Axtell subsequently filed a complaint against the trucking company with the U.S. Justice Department, who took on his employment case. An employment lawsuit was subsequently filed, which claimed the trucking company violated Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act by failing to give him his job back and wrongful termination.

The employment lawsuit was later settled for $60,000.

“The Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act, or USERRA, gives veterans certain rights to get back their jobs when they return from serving our country. Unfortunately this is an all too common problem veterans are facing in these hard economic times, but employers should be held accountable for holding a soldier’s position—especially when they are putting their lives on the line for our country,” explains Jeffrey Keller, a Bay Are employment lawyer.

This news story is brought to you by the Bay Area employment lawyers at Keller Grover LLP , providing legal representation for consumers, professionals, and employees dealing with challenging issues in the workplace that warrant assistance from a qualified consumer, business and California employment attorney.

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