Daijiworld Media Network - New York
New York, Oct 29: The United States government has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the technology giant of violating federal law by failing to restore an employee to his former position or provide him with a comparable role after he returned from a year of military leave as a US Army reservist.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in a federal court in Manhattan, alleges that Google violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), which protects the civilian employment rights of military personnel called to active duty.
The case is a relatively rare instance of the US government taking legal action against a private employer over alleged violations of the law governing the reemployment of military personnel.
According to the complaint, Mark Davisson worked as a key account executive at Google for two-and-a-half years, managing cloud services accounts for major financial institutions, including asset manager BlackRock and hedge fund Bridgewater Associates. He also managed the US business of the former Credit Suisse.
When Davisson returned from military leave in May 2023, Google allegedly refused to allow him to manage customer accounts, despite retaining his salary and job title. The complaint claims that the decision deprived him of opportunities for professional development and career advancement.
Google, a subsidiary of Mountain View, California-based Alphabet, allegedly assigned Davisson to a cloud solutions position in January 2024. However, the new role also did not involve managing customer accounts, according to the lawsuit.
Seven months later, in August 2024, the company terminated his employment following another period of military leave, as part of a broader workforce reduction, the complaint stated.
Davisson, who has a home in Charlotte, North Carolina, lived and worked in Manhattan during his employment with Google.
The lawsuit was brought by the civil rights unit of the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, with support from Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, the Trump administration's senior civil rights official.
The government is seeking compensation for Davisson, including lost wages and employment benefits, as well as additional damages. It has also asked the court to require Google to take measures to ensure compliance with USERRA, including improving employee training on the law's requirements.
US Attorney Jamie McDonald said federal law protects service members from being disadvantaged in their civilian careers because of their military duties.
“Federal law ensures that our brave soldiers, who sacrifice so much to keep us safe, are not punished by employers when they return to the civilian workforce after completing their military service,” McDonald said in a statement.
Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit. The allegations have not yet been established in court.
USERRA requires employers to provide eligible service members returning from military duty with reemployment rights and protects them against employment discrimination based on their military service or obligations. The law is intended to ensure that military personnel do not lose career opportunities or suffer employment disadvantages because they fulfil their service commitments.
The lawsuit places renewed attention on the obligations of major employers towards reservists and other military personnel who temporarily leave civilian jobs to serve in the armed forces.