Most employers respect employees’ rights to take a leave of absence from their jobs to serve their country when the military requires it. If your employer is not in that group and you are fired or unable to regain your job after your service has ended, a Tampa military leave wrongful termination lawyer at Feldman Legal Group could help you enforce your rights.
The state treats all employment as at-will, allowing private and public employers to fire an employee for a lawful reason or for no reason at all. However, the law prohibits employers from terminating employment for the wrong reasons, such as taking a leave to serve in any of the U.S. Armed Forces. If you find yourself in this situation, a wrongful termination attorney from Feldman Legal Group could fight for you.
Does Federal Law Guarantee Your Employment Rights After Military Service?
In 1994, the United States enacted the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), 38 U.S. Code § 4301 et seq., which is the basis for all wrongful employment termination involving military leave that our Tampa attorneys handle. Our team could analyze the facts of your situation and file a lawsuit on your behalf under this law if other employees who are not military service members get preferential treatment, you lose the advantages available to other employees, or your employer declines to re-hire you after you took a leave of absence to do military service.
You should enjoy the benefits of these guarantees under USERRA as long as:
- You gave your employer timely notice of your need for leave
- You were not subject to a dishonorable discharge
- Your time in the military does not exceed five years
- You returned to your employer at the end of your military service
The team at Feldman Legal Group has in-depth experience with USERRA matters and could provide specific information on how this law protects you.
Enforcing Military Leave Rights Through a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit
The United States Department of Labor has developed procedures for service members to file a USERRA military leave wrongful termination complaint. The federal government also assists wrongfully terminated veterans through its Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve agency. As with many administrative remedies, the procedures and help these agencies provide are subject to bureaucratic rules that can lead to frustration and delays.
It is more productive to retain a wrongful termination attorney from our Tampa team to manage the bureaucracy associated with military leave claims. Our legal team could pursue administrative remedies as a necessary step before filing a lawsuit. We could meet all filing deadlines, ensure your case does not languish, and fight to secure back pay and reinstatement to the job you left when your country called you into service.
Call a Tampa Attorney About Wrongful Termination After Military Leave
Mitchell Feldman brings over two decades of experience in defending workers in wrongful termination matters. He and his team of seasoned litigators are ready to challenge employers who use pretexts or vague excuses to justify firing employees who are connected to any of the country’s uniformed services, including any of its Armed Forces, Reserves, National Guard, and other disaster, search and rescue, and commissioned service personnel.
A Tampa military leave wrongful termination lawyer from our firm stands ready to fight for your rights after you have stood firm in your military service. Please call our offices at any time to schedule a meeting with one of our lawyers if your employment rights have been violated.
(877) 946-8293