The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the U.S. territory of Guam and the Guam Retirement Fund on Wednesday, alleging the territory had violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
Guam is accused of ignoring USERRA regulations when it refused to grant proper retirement pension credits for military service members who used leave while on active duty, according to a press release issued by the DOJ.
USERRA is a federal statute that protects the “civilian employment rights of the non-career individuals who serve in our armed forces.” Among the protections is the requirement that employers treat employees’ time in military service as service with the company in relation to retirement pensions, including the time that the member spent on leave.
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The suit alleges that Guam’s retirement fund did not take the leave time into account, instead denying proper pension credits for former service members.
The DOJ lawsuit seeks to compel Guam to honor the guidelines laid out in USERRA and to identify and properly credit those who have been denied their owed pension credits.
“This complaint reinforces that the Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce the protections provided by federal law to those who serve in our country’s armed forces at great personal cost,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said. “We owe a solemn duty to our service members to act when any employer seeks to infringe on their hard-earned protections.”
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The prosecutors allege that at least five service members were denied their due pension credits.
