Yea. No kidding. The Fifth Court upheld District Court that YES Continental may (or may not) have had a hostile work environment for reservists but NO it didn't violate the law because USERRA only covered working status, not working conditions. Crazy. A "victory" for the company that they can mistreat reservists as long as their actual employment there is not affected. Must have popped the champagne on that one.
From Fifth Circuit:
Quote:
Section 4311(a) of USERRA provides that service members “shall not be denied . . . any benefit of employment by an employer on the basis of that membership . . .”* USERRA defines “benefit of employment” to include “any advantage, profit, privilege, gain, status, account, or interest.”* Because nothing in the express language of the statute provides for a hostile work environment claim, the Fifth Circuit examined USERRA’s legislative history, case law, and other anti-discrimination statutes...Noting that the breadth of USERRA allows aggrieved employees to bring actions for constructive discharge and for other contractual benefits, the Court found “no reason for an additional non-textual harassment cause of action.”* The Court thus affirmed the district court’s order dismissing Carder’s hostile work environment claims under USERRA and remanded the case for further proceedings on Carder’s other claims.
It went to Supreme Court:
Quote:
...Accordingly, the Court finds that, under a plain language interpretation, USERRA does not provide for a hostile work environment cause of action. As such, it is not necessary to look to extrinsic evidence [of a hostile environment] to construe this statute. Under these considerations, the claim must be dismissed.
VI. Conclusion
Based on the preceding discussion, the Court hereby GRANTS Continental’s motion to dismiss in-part and DENIES the motion in-part.
It is so ORDERED. http://pilotlawcorp.com/pdfs/Petitio...Cert-Final.pdf
Can you imagine going to court and saying, yes, we may have had a hostile work environment for Americans serving their country but, if even if we do, that isn't against the law. Where's 60 Minutes when you need them?
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