Attorneys Grant and Rewa Obtain Motion for Summary Judgment in Employment Discrimination Case

Attorneys Gregory Grant and Kristen Rewa recently obtained summary judgment in favor of a small, rural city, its police chief, and a police lieutenant in a hotly contested employment discrimination case alleging violations of the due process clause, equal protection clause, and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), a federal statute which protects the rights of active military members and veterans from discrimination in civilian employment.

The Plaintiff, a new police officer and military reservist, was ordered to attend military training for five months. When he left for training, the officer was on probation, had completed his field training, but had just begun his period of observation as a solo officer. When he returned, the department kept him on probation to monitor his ability to meet the department’s expectations. Unfortunately, he did not. He was terminated from employment after an incident that resulted in the county prosecutor issuing Brady/Giglio letter for his actions.

The officer claimed the city violated USERRA by re-employing him as a probationary officer and unfairly targeted him for discipline because of his military status. He filed an administrative complaint with the Department of Labor (DOL) Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) office, the federal agency charged with investigating and enforcing USERRA. VETS issued a letter asserting that the city violated USERRA and demanded that the city reemploy and compensate the officer. The city disagreed. Plaintiff filed a lawsuit in federal court, demanding seven figures.

Despite the agency ruling, Grant and Rewa were able to demonstrate to the federal court that the city did not violate USERRA or the officer’s constitutional rights. Citing to testimony from the police chief on the importance of the probationary period to evaluating a police officer’s ability to perform his duties in a professional, competent, and legal manner, the Court agreed that the city had the right under USERRA to re-employ the officer as a probationary employee to complete a bona fide observation period. The Court agreed with our attorneys’ legal analysis, which showed the officer’s (and VETS) position was flawed and inconsistent with the current wording of the statute, the DOL’s own administrative guidance, and prior court opinions interpreting the statute.

The Court also agreed that the officer’s constitutional claims lacked merit. The Court dismissed the due process claim as an attempt to constitutionalize what was a contract dispute. Further, the Court found no evidence of any discriminatory animus, pointing to the officer’s own admissions at his deposition that he was not harassed based on his military status. Rather, our attorneys showed that the termination stemmed from the officer’s actions and the practical impossibility his actions posed: our client’s small police department simply cannot employ a police officer that the local prosecutor refused to use as a witness.

Gregory Grant is a partner in our Traverse City office where he focuses his practice on municipal law, employment and labor law, insurance defense, and litigation. He has extensive litigation experience in the areas of employment and labor law, police liability, first amendment law, due process, Open Meetings Act (OMA) and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has earned dismissals in each of these areas. He may be reached in our Traverse City office at (231) 922-1888 or ggrant@cmda-law.com.

Kristen Rewa is a partner in our Grand Rapids office where she focuses her practice on law enforcement defense and litigation, municipal law, employment and labor law, and insurance defense. She has experience in police liability and risk management, internal affairs investigations and disciplinary matters, and public safety policies and procedures. She may be reached in our Grand Rapids office at (616) 975-7470 or krewa@cmda-law.com.