West Virginia Attorney General issued the following announcement on Dec. 16.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and a 24-state coalition recently won an important ruling that protects National Guard soldiers from losing their jobs, pay and benefits after serving their communities on state active duty.
A federal appeals court earlier this month adopted arguments made in the coalition’s brief.
“The men and women of the National Guard leave their family, jobs and homes behind to serve and protect citizens – they should be treated fairly by their employers for their sacrifice,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “We need not disincentivize people from enlisting and fulfilling essential duties.”
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, entered Dec. 4, overturned a district court decision that would have left members of the National Guard with no protection from employment discrimination when they serve in a state capacity rather than national.
The case centered on an Illinois soldier whose city police department refused back pay and benefits because the state’s governor, as opposed to the president, initiated the soldier’s counter-drug deployment.
The bipartisan coalition’s brief, filed in July, argued the earlier decision would have had a major impact on the men and women who serve in their state’s National Guard and discourage those who consider enlistment.
West Virginia had joined the Illinois-led coalition with Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington.
Original source can be found here.