With his retirement to begin on June 30 at noon, Justice Breyer leads a 5-4 split in Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety, with the Chief Justice and Justice Kavanaugh, along with Justices Sotomayor and Kagan, joining him in holding that, by virtue of the states having ratified the Constitution, they agreed that their sovereignty would yield to the national power to raise and support the Armed Forces. Accordingly, Congress may exercise this national power to authorize private damages suits against nonconsenting states. Congress did just that when it passed the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), which gives returning servicemembers the right to reclaim their prior jobs with state employers, and authorizes suit if those employers refuse to accommodate veterans’ service-related disabilities. See 38 U. S. C. § §4301 et seq.
Blog Editors
Recent Updates
- Biometric Backlash: The Rising Wave of Litigation Under BIPA and Beyond
- Tasked with Troubling Content: AI Model Training and Workplace Implications
- Extraterritorial Application of the DTSA: Recent Decision Continues to Develop “Act in Furtherance” Element
- Shielding Reproductive Freedom: Uncovering New York’s Law Protecting Providers from Civil and Criminal Liability
- The Record-Setting First National Health Care Fraud Takedown of the Second Trump Administration: What Stayed the Same and What Is New?