(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost joined 23 other states in filing an amicus brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit urging the court to hold that federal employment law protections apply to full-time National Guard responsibilities.
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) is the federal law that protects members of the armed forces from being discriminated against in hiring or firing decisions based on duty-related absences from work. A district court in Illinois ruled the USERRA does not protect national guardsmen when their absences are associated with state-related duty.
“When the men and women of our National Guard are called to full-time duty, they should be protected against workplace discrimination regardless of whether they are serving under the direction of the Governor or the President of the United States,” Yost said. “They stand ready to protect us, and we should work tirelessly to protect them.”
The brief states, “the district court’s opinion, if not reversed, will discourage individuals from serving in the States’ National Guards and fulfilling various duties … including homeland security operations, responses to disasters and other emergencies … by denying them USERRA protection for that service.”
Although the Seventh Circuit does not cover Ohio, this ruling will impact Ohio National Guardsmen who work across the border in Indiana, which is within the Seventh Circuit. Yost said he signed onto the brief because, “if it saves one Ohioan from being mistreated at work based on service to his country, that is reason enough for me.”
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