While reservists serve, their jobs don't always wait

Between 2004 and 2006, returning volunteers filed 16,000 complaints against employers.

from the April 10, 2008 edition

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The system is actually working better than before as government agencies eventually geared up to handle all the complaints pouring in as a result of the largest activation of reserves in decades, according to the GAO. But it still criticized the process for delays and called for a single agency to oversee it.

The disputes are also more complex.

"In '03 and '04 our role was frequently more as a mediator and educator," says Mr. Lowrie, the lawyer who also serves as chairman of the Colorado ESGR. These days, more employees and employers are aware of USERRA's protections and cases are "slightly more a genuine dispute." The number of complaints ESGR ombudsmen receive has drifted down steadily from almost 6,000 in 2004 to a little more than 1,000 last year.

Justice Department suits are up slightly – rising from two to eight over the same period.

Stung by his sudden layoff notice from Agilent Technologies, Duarte called his commanding officer, Marine Col. George Aucoin, a New Orleans lawyer who knew of USERRA. When Duarte e-mailed company executives about the law, they said he was being laid off because of financial troubles and his job was not protected.

While sending out résumés, Duarte and Colonel Aucoin continued to research USERRA. The Labor and Defense departments said they couldn't represent him – for reasons that Duarte disputes.

In February 2004, Agilent posted an opening for a job very similar to Duarte's.

"That was kind of the nail in the coffin," says Duarte. He sued the next month.

A struggle – and $12,000 in costs

The case would ultimately cost Duarte $12,000. At the same time, he struggled to find another job. He and his wife lived off her salary, his severance from Agilent, and the pay from extra work he took on with his reserve unit. Finally, in April 2005, he went on active military duty "because I had to get back to work."

"It wasn't easy financially. It wasn't easy mentally," says Duarte. After a while, "it wasn't about the money."

If it was hard to use USERRA to protect himself – a college-educated lieutenant colonel with years of work experience and savings – "there is no way a young [private first class] or lance corporal coming back is going to be able to fight this thing," he says.

A little over a year after filing his suit, the US district court in Colorado found in his favor, awarding him almost $400,000.

Agilent said in a statement that "although Agilent disagreed with the final outcome in this matter, we appreciated the opportunity ... to explain the reasons for the business decisions that were made.... Agilent remains committed to its employees who serve in the military."

"It's forced employers to take a very close look at allegations arising under USERRA and forced them to consider the ramifications associated with disputing a claim," says Lowrie.

Duarte has become an advocate of sorts on the issue, starting a website about his experience and recently testifying at a Senate hearing on USERRA. A year ago he finally found steady work, back in human resources with the city of Westminster, Colo.

It "was the first time my life got back to some semblance" of normal since 2003, says Duarte.

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