USERRA Violation – Seniority-based Benefits

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Michael Moss v. United Airlines, Inc., et al.,

Case No.: 20-3246

Officials: RIPPLE, ROVNER, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: USERRA Violation – Seniority-based Benefits

Michael Moss brought this class action against United Airlines (“United”) under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”). This statute requires employers to provide employees on military leave any seniority-based benefit the employee would have accrued but for the military leave. USERRA also requires employers to provide employees on military leave any nonseniority-based benefits that the employer provides to employees on a comparable leave of absence. This latter provision is not at issue in this appeal.

The district court granted summary judgment to United Airlines on Mr. Moss’s claim that the company had violated USERRA by denying sick-time accrual in excess of ninety days to military reservist employees. The district court held that sick-time accrual was not a seniority-based benefit within the meaning of the statute.

We now affirm the judgment of the district court. The district court correctly determined that United’s sick-time accrual is not a seniority-based benefit. For a benefit to be seniority-based, the benefit must be a reward for length of service. Sick leave is not such a reward.

Affirmed
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Derek A Hawkins is Corporate Counsel, at Salesforce.