Alaska Employment Law

Judge Burgess: Such claims may be brought only in state court

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, 38 USC § 4301 et seq. (USERRA),  authorizes suits against both state and private employers.  While USERRA has always provided that suits against private employers may be brought in federal court, it was amended in 1998 to provided that private suits against state employers ”may be brought in a State court of competent jurisdiction.”  Id. at § 4323(b)(2).

Judge Timothy Burgess has now ruled that state courts have “exclusive” jurisdiction over private suits against state employers, including individual state defendants.  He, thus, dismissed a suit against the University brought in federal court, and denied plaintiff’s motion to add individual University employees as defendants.

Order of 10/11/07

Townsend v. University of Alaska, Case 3:06-cv-00171 (D.Alaska Oct. 11, 2007).

George Aucoin and Donald Hyatt of Mandeville, Louisiana represent plaintiff Townsend.  Mark Ashburn (Anchorage) and Will Schendel (Fairbanks) represent the University.