{"id":36034,"date":"2020-01-15T15:02:02","date_gmt":"2020-01-15T15:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/01\/15\/another-guardsman-unable-to-return-to-work-at-us-postal-service\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:01:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:01:05","slug":"another-guardsman-unable-to-return-to-work-at-us-postal-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/2020\/01\/15\/another-guardsman-unable-to-return-to-work-at-us-postal-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Guardsman prevented from returning to work at the US Postal Service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">John D. Patrie, a letter carrier from Auburn, Maine, was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/opinion\/commentary\/2019\/11\/04\/userra-has-played-a-significant-role-supporting-an-all-volunteer-force-for-25-years\/\" target=\"_blank\">denied reemployment<\/a> with the U.S. Postal Service in 2016 following the conclusion of his military service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Four years later, Patrie, who served with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2017\/05\/16\/new-maine-national-guard-headquarters-taking-shape-in-augusta\/\" target=\"_blank\">Maine Air National Guard<\/a>\u2019s 101st Air Refueling Wing out of Bangor Air National Guard Base, is still waiting to get his job back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Patrie, who turns 56 on Thursday, was activated in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He \u201cserved almost continuously\u201d from September 2001 until Dec. 31, 2015, flying combat air patrols in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. During this period, the U.S. military increasingly relied on part-timers \u2014 guardsmen and reservists \u2014 on orders to run operations in support of active duty personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All the while, Patrie worked at the Postal Service in Maine since 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout his numerous deployments, Patrie provided the Postal Service with copies of his updated orders, maintained his membership in the letter carriers\u2019 union and \u201cwas placed in a \u2018leave without pay\u2019 status,\u201d according to court documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey knew my background when they hired me, and they had no qualms with it,\u201d Patrie said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the service\u2019s own employee <a href=\"https:\/\/about.usps.com\/manuals\/elm\/html\/welcome.htm\" target=_blank>manual<\/a>, the Postal Service \u201csupports employee service in the Reserve or National Guard,\u201d barring any action aimed to \u201cdiscourage either voluntary or involuntary participation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nearing the end of his active duty service, Patrie notified the Postal Service to request reinstatement, in keeping with the human resources guidebooks he had received.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Postal Service, however, denied the request. Like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/01\/09\/guardsman-fired-from-the-postal-service-in-2000-for-military-service-receives-notice-to-return-to-work\/\">case of Sgt. Maj. Richard Erickson<\/a>, the service claimed Patrie had \u201cabandoned\u201d his civilian career in favor of a military one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was awestruck,\u201d Patrie said. \u201cEvery time I dropped off my orders, there was no mention of the word \u2018abandonment,\u2019 and every two weeks, I received\u2026everything a normal worker would.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In February 2016, he filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor\u2019s Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS), citing a violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Passed in 1994, USERRA protects service members from facing workplace discrimination based on their military service, including mandated reemployment after a period of service. VETS \u201cis authorized to investigate and resolve complaints of USERRA violations,\u201d according to the Labor Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His case was referred to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) for representation before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). In April 2019, an administrative judge ruled that the Postal Service must reinstate Patrie and grant him \u201cappropriate back pay\u201d with interest and benefits \u201cretroactive to 2016.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are very pleased to have won this victory not just for Mr. Patrie but for service members everywhere,\u201d Special Counsel Henry J. Kerner said in an OSC <a href=\"https:\/\/osc.gov\/News\/Pages\/19-08-National-Guardsman-Denied-Reinstatement-Postal-Service.aspx\">release<\/a> at the time. \u201cOur country must honor its commitments to those who serve in uniform and defend our freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the Postal Service appealed the ruling, and despite the judge\u2019s decision, the service has still not provided \u201cinterim relief\u201d to Patrie. \u201cInterim relief\u201d refers to the reinstatement of employment during the appeals process, a decision the Postal Service is also appealing. It will be four years this month since Patrie\u2019s struggle to return to his job as a letter carrier began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A spokesperson with the Postal Service declined to comment on Patrie\u2019s case due to \u201cpending litigation matters&#8221; but asserted the service\u2019s support for service members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Postal Service fully supports its employees who serve in the armed forces as members of the Reserve and National Guard,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cThe Postal Service has been recognized as one of the nation\u2019s top employers of veterans and we have undertaken extensive training efforts to ensure human resources staff and managers correctly implement USERRA\u2019s protections and requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEverybody that I know, they went back to their employers, and their employers welcomed them back with open arms and said \u2018thank you for your service,\u2019\u201d Patrie said. \u201c[The Postal Service is] the only company that I know that said, \u2018No, you abandoned your job.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Patrick H. Boulay, chief of the USERRA unit at OSC and Patrie\u2019s lawyer, said the service has taken advantage of the MSPB being \u201cin limbo\u201d by \u201capplying an arbitrary standard.\u201d The board currently has no members, who are nominated by the president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis particular issue of \u2018abandonment\u2019 has really only come up with the Postal Service. It is something they have perpetuated for some time,&#8221; Boulay added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barred from returning to his position, Patrie, who had to seek alternative employment, estimates he is losing at least $40,000 per year in income and benefits before overtime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey have delayed and obfuscated to the furthest extent possible,\u201d said Boulay. \u201cMr. Patrie did everything by the book.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThey have delayed and obfuscated to the furthest extent possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":67087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":16,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[24,89,16],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3150],"class_list":["post-36034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"734LPN54GVD3ZA7MN7RI4DJWDA","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2020\/01\/15\/another-guardsman-unable-to-return-to-work-at-us-postal-service\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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