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Ex-airman to get $12,000 in USERRA lawsuit

The Justice Department has brokered a deal with Wal-Mart to resolve an employment lawsuit filed against the company on behalf of an Air Force veteran, the department announced Thursday.

The department alleged Wal-Mart violated federal law by failing to rehire Sean Thornton after he was discharged by the Air Force. A consent decree filed in federal court, if approved by a judge, would require Wal-Mart to pay Thornton $12,000 in back pay, less legally required employee income tax and other standard withholdings, according to a Justice Department news release.

The lawsuit, filed March 31 in U.S. District Court in Orlando, Fla., alleges that Wal-Mart violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 by failing or refusing to reinstate Thornton to his civilian job as a cashier at a Wal-Mart store in Orange City, Fla., after he left the Air Force.

The law requires that individuals who leave their jobs to serve in the military and return within five years be rehired by their civilian employers in the same position they would have held had they not left to serve, according to the Justice Department Web site.

“The sacrifices made by our armed forces are invaluable to this nation,” Grace Chung Becker, acting assistant attorney general for the civil rights division, said in a statement. “The Department of Justice remains committed to protecting the employment rights of men and women who serve our country in the military.”