. . . idiocy like this might have something to do with it.<\/p>\n
Seems that in 1988, a guy left active duty.\u00a0 He went to work for the US Postal Service.<\/p>\n
In 1990, he rejoined the National Guard.\u00a0 He was active in the Guard.<\/p>\n
So active, in fact, that in 2000 the USPS fired him for \u201cjob abandonment\u201d.\u00a0 They thought he\u2019d neglected his job at USPS and had taken off too much time for Guard matters.<\/p>\n
During a 7-year period, the matter went to court multiple times.\u00a0 Courts ruled repeatedly in the soldier’s favor.\u00a0 But for some reason, the USPS apparently simply refused to reinstate the man in his former job.<\/p>\n
The matter finally went to the Merit Systems Protection Board – again – late last year.\u00a0 And in it\u2019s latest ruling, the board clearly was not amused with the USPS’s antics.<\/p>\n
The board ordered the man reinstated \u2013 and also ordered the USPS to pony up for 12 years back pay and other costs<\/em>.\u00a0 The total could come to roughly $2 million.<\/p>\n The USPS is reportedly appealing the latest MSPB decision.\u00a0 Hey, interest rates are low – what have they got to lose, right?<\/p>\n Sheesh.\u00a0 Talk about being too dumb to stop digging . . . .<\/p>\n Details are found here<\/a>, and here<\/a>. \u00a0(The second link is from this guy\u2019s union, so it\u2019s hardly an unbiased source \u2013 IMO, lotsa spin there \u2013 but it does provide a few pertinent details not present in the first.) I\u2019ve heard a couple of other stories of government agencies (both Federal and state) treating members of the Reserve Components quite shabbily, so I can believe this wasn\u2019t just an accidental \u201cOops\u201d on someone\u2019s part.\u00a0 And the fact that multiple Federal judges and boards have ruled in this guy\u2019s favor leads me to believe the facts are overwhelmingly on his side.<\/p>\n If that\u2019s the case – and it appears indeed to be the case – this is long<\/i> overdue.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also good to see the USPS get absolutely body-slammed here.\u00a0 Government entities aren\u2019t exempt from the Uniformed Services Employment\/Reemployment Rights Act.<\/p>\n Hopefully those individuals at the USPS who are responsible for this idiocy end up with the same problem they foisted on this guy \u2013 unemployment.\u00a0 But in their case(s), it would IMO be fully deserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"