US

DOJ Settles With Company That Fired Airman On Military Leave

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A nutritional supplement company has agreed to pay an airman $3,000 for terminating her while on military leave.

South Dakota Air National Staff Sgt. Amber Ishmael was on extended military leave to attend Airman Leadership School, but when she finished up her time at the institution, BioFusion Health Products did not re-employ her and eventually terminated her employment altogether, the Department of Justice said in a press release.

She was officially terminated from her receptionist position in February 2015.

Ishmael has served with the Air National Guard since 2010.

The Department of Justice announced Monday that it had reached a settlement with BioFusion, effectively resolving the claim that the South Dakota-based company had violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

In the agreement, BioFusion did not admit that it violated USERRA.

The point of the USERRA legislation is to prevent discrimination against service members in the course of fulfilling their military obligations.

“The United States has a solemn obligation to ensure that those selfless Americans who serve in the nation’s Armed Forces enjoy every opportunity to advance their civilian careers,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio. “The Department of Justice will be unwavering in protecting the rights of our nation’s service members and we will continue to hold accountable employers who violate those rights.”

“Members of our Air National Guard must frequently sacrifice time away from their families and civilian jobs in service to our country,” said U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Seiler of the District of South Dakota. “When military obligations require servicemembers to be absent from their jobs, their employment rights must be protected. The Civil Rights Section at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Dakota is committed to protecting those rights. This settlement agreement demonstrates that when employers disregard their obligations under USERRA, our office will hold them accountable for their violations.”

The Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) first began the investigation, but after VETS was unable to resolve the issue, the Department of Justice took on the case.

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