Sometimes the strongest evidence of employment discrimination comes from the employer’s own pen. In Opara v. UV Memory Care, LLC, the Department of Justice sued a private assisted-living facility for violating the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the federal law that protects employment and reemployment rights of service member employees and prohibits discrimination based on military service. The lawsuit arose after the employer repeatedly documented—first in a demotion letter, then in a submission to the Texas Workforce Commission—that the employee’s National Guard obligations were the reason she was removed from her supervisory job. The case settled through a consent decree filed the same day as the complaint, but it is worth employers’ attention for what it reveals about DOJ’s enforcement posture. The government rarely litigates USERRA claims against private employers, but will do so when an employer has effectively built the case against itself through its own contemporaneous admissions.
Factual Background
The plaintiff served as a Health Care Specialist in the Texas Army National Guard while working as a Night Shift Supervisor and Medication Aide for the defendant, an assisted-living facility serving residents with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Employed since June 2023, she supervised six employees, regularly volunteered for additional shifts, and received an Outstanding Employee Award the month before her termination. Throughout...
OREM — A Utah psychiatrist charged with making false claims for medical benefits, is now accused of accessing child sex abuse material while awaiting trial. Thomas Eugene Draschil, 49, of Orem, wa...