Supreme Court backs Congress on veteran job protection law – By Michael Macagnone (Roll Call) / June 29, 2022
A contrary ruling “would permit States to thwart national military readiness,” the majority found
The Supreme Court backed a broader reading of the federal government’s war powers Wednesday, finding that Congress can give veterans the ability to file lawsuits against states if they face job discrimination over their military service.
The 5-4 decision found that Texas could not dodge a lawsuit from a former Texas state trooper under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA, after refusing to accommodate the veteran who was injured in the line of duty.
The ruling would overturn state courts in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia that had ruled Congress didn’t have the power to let servicemembers file civil suits against state governments.
In the majority opinion, Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote that state governments can be sued under the law, which granted veterans the right to be promptly reemployed on return from service and free from discrimination over their service.
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