Army reservist LeRoy Torres came back from Iraq in 2008 with severe lung and brain injuries, which he attributes to the months he spent living near a massive, open-air burn pit.
When he tried to return to his civilian job as a state trooper in Texas, Torres couldn’t keep up. A chronic cough, extreme fatigue, headaches, and memory problems meant he often missed work. But he thought the Texas Highway Patrol would accommodate his disability.
“I'm thinking in my head that I'm going to be taken care of,” Torres said. “You know, that there are laws that protect us. That with my experience and my education, I'll be able to at least be able to finish my six years that I was hoping to finish with the department.”
But Torres said the agency didn’t accommodate his requests that his job be modified. He eventually resigned and didn’t get all of the benefits he’d earned.
So he sued in Texas state court in 2017, invoking his rights under a federal law called USERRA — the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The suit is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I just never thought that it was going to be this difficult,” Torres said.
Texas officials argue that they worked with Torres and didn’t violate his rights. But the state also is making a claim that could render Texas -...
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