Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Stonescape Pavers LLC to Enforce Employment...

Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Stonescape Pavers LLC to Enforce
Employment Rights of U.S. Air Force Reservist

WASHINGTON, June 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Justice Department today
filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas against Stonescape Pavers
LLC alleging that the company willfully violated the Uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by firing Matthew T.
Denning without cause when he returned from active duty.

Enacted by Congress in 1994, USERRA prohibits employers from discriminating or
retaliating against employees or applicants for employment because of their
past, current or future military obligations. Subject to certain conditions,
USERRA requires that employers promptly reemploy returning service members and
prohibits employers from terminating service members except for cause for 180
days after their reemployment.

Denning, a former Utah Army National Guardsman and current Air Force
Reservist, was a salesman for Stonescape when he was called to active duty to
deploy to Iraq with the Utah Army National Guard in January 2006. After he was
honorably discharged in June 2006, Denning was reemployed by Stonescape. The
Justice Department's complaint alleges that Stonescape terminated Denning
without cause in August 2006 during his statutorily protected reemployment
time period.

"In enacting USERRA, Congress recognized that it is important to protect the
employment rights of the men and women who serve our country in uniform by
protecting them from discharge without cause," said Loretta King, Acting
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Civil Rights
Division is committed to vigorously enforcing federal laws that protect the
employment rights of men and women who are serving in our nation's military."

The Labor Department's Veterans' Employment and Training Service investigated
and attempted to resolve Denning's USERRA complaint before referring it to the
Justice Department for litigation.

The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has given a high priority to
the enforcement of service members' rights under USERRA. This is the 17th
USERRA suit the Justice Department has filed this year on behalf of service
members. Additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice
Department's Web sites at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp and
http://www.servicemembers.gov, as well as on the Labor Department's website at
http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/main.htm.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, +1-202-514-2007, TDD
+1-202-514-1888