The district court in Reyes v. Goya of Puerto Rico, Inc. held that the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”) does not  per se preempt state tort law claims.  In reaching this result, the court clarified that the preemption provision under USERRA applies only where the second claim either “hinges upon the same facts underlying [the] USERRA claim” or “explicitly reduces, limits, or eliminates…[a] right or benefit provided by USERRA.”  The case was initiated by Francisco Reyes who filed a complaint against his employer, Goya of Puerto Rico (“Goya”) for violations of USERRA and for emotional distress under the Puerto Rican Civil Code.  Goya moved to dismiss Reyes’s second cause of action for emotional distress “on the grounds that it is preempted by USERRA and , ultimately does not exist as a matter of Puerto Rico law.”  Finding that “nothing in the [Act’s] statutory language suggests that state tort law causes of action are pre-empted by USERRA,” and that Goya did not argue that Reyes’s tort claim was based on the same facts as his USERRA claim, the district court denied Goya’s motion.

This decision is significant because it reminds employers that USERRA does not provide “immunity from liability for … tortious conduct” that is separate and independent of a veteran’s USERRA claim.  For information on The Employment Law Group® law firm’s USERRA practice, click here.