Upping the ante – USERRA case clarifies the “escalator principle”

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Abstract: The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) prohibits employers from engaging in discrimination based on military service or obligation. One facet of the law, the “escalator principle,” requires that a veteran returning to his or her company be hired for a position that would be at least as high-ranking as one he or she would have had if not for the intervening military service. But is promotion reasonably certain if it’s not automatic? And should automatic promotion be the standard? This article looks at one case that addressed these issues. Rivera-Meléndez v. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, No. 12-1023, Sept. 20, 2013 (1st Cir.)