DOJ sues Google, alleging it failed to restore Army reservist's job after deployment

The United States has sued Google LLC in Manhattan federal court, alleging the company violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) by failing to restore a returning Army reservist to a position of like status, according to an October 29 announcement from the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

The suit was filed on behalf of former Google employee Mark Davisson, a lieutenant colonel in the US Army Reserve. According to the pleadings, Davisson joined Google in December 2019 as a Key Account Executive leading Google Cloud sales in the Financial Services Group, and by January 2022 managed the Google Cloud accounts for BlackRock, Bridgewater Associates and Credit Suisse.

Davisson was ordered to active duty in May 2022 and served at US Army Cyber Command at Fort Gordon, Georgia, before returning to Google in May 2023, the complaint says.

The complaint alleges that when he returned, Google did not restore him as the executive responsible for any of the accounts he previously managed, or for any other customer account, and did not reemploy him in a position with the same opportunities for advancement, working conditions and responsibility. Reuters reported that, according to the complaint, he kept his pay and title.

The complaint says Google assigned Davisson in January 2024 to a cloud solutions role that also involved no customer accounts, and that he was terminated about seven months later as part of a workforce reduction affecting that team, Reuters reported.

USERRA requires that service members whose employment is interrupted by more than 90 days of military service be restored, on their return, to a position of the status they would have held absent that service.

The complaint seeks, among other things, reinstatement, compensation for lost wages and liquidated damages. The case is being handled by the office's Civil Rights Unit.

"We disagree with the claims in this complaint," Google spokesperson Atle Erlingsson said in an email to Reuters. "Google takes compliance with employment laws, including USERRA, seriously and investigates allegations of workplace wrongdoing."