This is one of those perfect “”I’ll be home with the new job and a back check for $2 mil for Christmas” stories.
Meet Sgt. Maj. Richard Erickson, weekend warrior extraordinary. Rich isn’t your run of the mill groundpounder. He’s Special Forces. He worked for the USPS for a number of years while doing his deployments for the 1990 Iraqistanan Winter Olympics. In 2000, the PO got PO’d and told him not to come back. He’d been playing Army too much and they didn’t cotton to that. With nothing better to do, he bailed and reenlisted with a Special Forces outfit for some more face time with Al Quaeda. Then came 9/11. This pretty much ensured he’d be employed full time for a while and he was.
During this time Rich managed to rack up 35 medals including three combat valor awards and a Purple Nurple. In addition, he continued his fight with the PO for his old job and kept winning on Appeal. Just as adamantly, the USPS kept on appealing and losing. Finally, the judge from the Merit System Protection Board ruled in his favor (again). In all likelyhood, the USPS will piss away some more of our tax dollars continuing a futile fight.
Back in the good old days, when you were forced by the draft to enlist, the government enacted USERRA- the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act- that guaranteed you got your job back when you got back. This assumed you still had all your fingers and toes. The Act applied to both the government and private industry and many were the Vets who came back to their old jobs after World War Two. This is what makes this case so strange.
Sgt. Major Erikson stands ready to resume his employ with those who brave the sleet and snow and dark of night. He’s also looking forward to that big paycheck they’ve been holding back for twelve years. Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Sounds like some other government agency has been hanging around 810 Vermin Ave. NW and learning the ropes.
asknod
Bethanie Spangenberg
kcraveiro
robinhoodesqvetsatty
Wesley McCauley
Veterans Claims Help 
green beret yes but according to the airborne insignia on his right sleeve he may even be delta force. good for him he is a hero
The USPS hasn’t paid him yet did they? Sounds like what he got was back pay times two. If they don’t give him his job back then add forward pay. Most MSPB attorneys don’t even know what USERRA even is. He must have had OSC behind him to get that far. OSC probably thought if they let that one go by they would get straffed by the media. OSC told me to take a hike. Very few ever get paid for it though even when they do win. I think there is 3 or 4 successes in the last 10 years. They put my USERRA complaint into some gal’s file down in LA to make sure it was gone from the building. She called me to tell me she had it but when I tried to call her back her voice mail was full.
The local MSPB ALJ almost always denies and then after about 3 years it goes to MSPB in DC where they do an “en banc” decision which is usually remanded back to the local ALJ. That ping pong usually takes from 5 to 8 years. Then 3-4 years at the Federal Appeals Court which remands and the game of ping pong continues on.
“The legal battle cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills for Erickson, though under USERRA, the USPS will pay his legal bills.”
No attorneys will take a case like that unless the Veteran pays up front. Most Veterans don’t have that much dough sitting around especially after they lost their jobs. The USPS has about 50 special counsels at their disposal and use them they will!
I am glad for him though…always glad to see a Veteran prevail. I do think they used him as an example that there is Justice, when in fact for us mere mortals there really isn’t any.
Good to hear of wins, it keeps us all believing.