A lawsuit filed on behalf of Michigan National Guard Member/Afghan War Veteran Douglas Rallo alleges Michigan based trucking giant Con-Way Freight, failed to comply with Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act and deprived Rallo of his rights under federal law when it terminated Mr. Rallo in a dispute over the extent of his service related medical conditions.
Rallo is represented by co-counsel. Civil rights/veterans rights lawyer David Blanchard from the Ann Arbor based law firm Nacht, Roumel & Walker, P.C. is partnering with Jocelyn Benson, President of Michigan Military Spouses to file the action pending before Judge Zatkoff in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. According to court filings, Rallo was terminated shortly after his return from a tour in Afghanistan. The complaint alleges that when the Company learned of service related medical conditions, they fired Rallo rather than providing continued medical leave or other work related accommodations required by the veterans’ rights laws.
“After nearly a year of silence, the company finally took a step in the right direction two weeks ago when it offered Mr. Rallo a return to work,” said Blanchard. “The problem is, there is no admission of wrongdoing, no back pay for a year out of work. He had to fight just for unemployment benefits rather than have him being reemployed and productive as the law requires. We think this is an important case to send a message. After all that our veterans have sacrificed in the name of our country and our government, we expect our employers to give returning veterans the benefit of the doubt, especially disabled veterans. We expect them to rely on honor when making employment decisions, rather than loopholes and re-certifications.”