Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Employers particularly those in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin should revisit their military leave policies in light of the Seventh Circuit’s holding in
White v. United Airlines Inc., No. 19-2546 (Feb. 3, 2021), that failure to provide paid military leave, while simultaneously offering paid time off for other absences such as for jury duty or sick leave, might violate the Uniformed Services Employee and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Judge Diane Wood wrote the opinion, which addressed this issue of first impression; she was joined by Judges Michael Brennan and Michael Scudder. On February 17, 2021, United Airlines filed a petition for rehearing en banc on the ground that the panel’s ruling was a “sudden and dramatic change in USERRA’s interpretation” since “virtually nobody thought the statute imposed a paid military leave requirement in any circumstances.”
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Employers particularly those in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin should revisit their military leave policies in light of the Seventh Circuit’s holding in
White v. United Airlines Inc., No. 19-2546 (Feb. 3, 2021), that failure to provide paid military leave, while simultaneously offering paid time off for other absences such as for jury duty or sick leave, might violate the Uniformed Services Employee and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Judge Diane Wood wrote the opinion, which addressed this issue of first impression; she was joined by Judges Michael Brennan and Michael Scudder. On February 17, 2021, United Airlines filed a petition for rehearing en banc on the ground that the panel’s ruling was a “sudden and dramatic change in USERRA’s interpretation” since “virtually nobody thought the statute imposed a paid military leave requirement in any circumstances.”
A few recent cases may have savvy employers rethinking their military leave policies and choosing to pay employees on short-term military leave to the same extent they voluntarily pay.
The Seventh Circuit's recent ruling that employers may have to pay people who miss work due to military obligations opens the door to a wave of class actions nationwide targeting the legality of companies' service member leave policies, experts say.
EXCLUSIVE: They proudly served their country, but were breathing in toxic air that would kill them : Thousands of dead or dying US veterans were sickened by warzone burn pits - but the VA does NOTHING to help them, claim families
US soldiers have reported that burn pits were used to incinerate all types of trash, including plastics, batteries, appliances, medicines, munitions, animal corpses and even human waste
During the wars Afghanistan and Iraq, it is thought that more than 200 bases used open air burn pits, and they could burn for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
One servicewoman described the constant dark black smoke and the lingering smell of burning that seemed to follow you wherever you went on base as there was literally no escaping it