A settlement agreement was filed in U.S. District Court resolving a complaint alleging that two employers, Delaware Resource Group of Oklahoma LLC, and Flight Safety Services Corporation, violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by not paying money into two U.S. Air Force veterans’ 401(k) plans.
USERRA prohibits employers from discriminating against or taking any adverse employment action against any person because that person has performed service in the uniformed services. USERRA also allows returning service members to make “catch up” contributions to their civilian employers’ 401(k) retirement plans, and receive the employers’ matching contributions that were missed while they were on military leave.
The two veterans, Michael J. Sipos and Gary D. Smith, are the plaintiffs in this case. According to the complaint, their employers, DRG and FlightSafety, violated USERRA by not allowing the veterans to make “catch up” contributions to their company’s 401(k) plans upon their return from duty and not matching contributions that the veterans missed while on active duty in the Air Force.
Under the settlement agreement, the defendants, DRG and FlightSafety, will allow the plaintiffs to make their “catch up” contributions to their respective 401(k) plans. In addition, DRG and FlightSafety will provide matching employer contributions to each of the veterans’ 401(k) plans.