By KRWG News
New Mexico – A jury has awarded $100,000 to a National Guard serviceman who claimed he was unfairly fired from his job with a New Mexico agency.
After a three-week trial, jurors in a Gallup court determined Friday that the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Family Department violated the Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
The Gallup Herald says Sgt. 1st Class Phillip Ramirez served two tours in Iraq and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in April 2008.
Ramirez says he was fired from the CYFD two months later for misconduct and insubordination. He was reinstated in July 2009 after an appeal, but was fired again in November 2010 for the same reasons.
USERRA provides protection for disabled veterans by requiring employers to make reasonable efforts to accommodate the disability.,
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Information from: Gallup Herald, http://
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.