An Indiana Army National Guard captain is suing the parent company of Ashley HomeStore over allegations that the furniture company violated federal law by not offering to re-employ the captain when he returned from military training.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the federal Southern District of Indiana Court by the US Department of Justice. It follows a dispute over a re-employment start date that Captain Christopher Robbins’ lawyers allege infringed upon Robbins’ rights as a member of the U.S. military.
IndyStar has reached out to attorneys representing Ashley HomeStore’s parent company, DSG Indiana, for comment.
Robbins worked as a sales associate for Ashley HomeStore in Greenwood from 2014 to 2017. That year he was ordered to attend National Guard training in Louisiana starting mid-July.
Robbins’ lawyers allege that he gave the store manager notice of up to a year that the training was going to happen. He also provided the military order sending him to Louisiana before leaving.
But when he returned in August to pick up his old job, DSG Indiana accused him of having left his job without taking military leave, describing his days away as “unexcused absences.” Robbins’ lawyers allege the company also denied having received a copy of his military orders.
Robbins’ lawyers said he then provided another copy of his military orders to attend the training and inquired about returning to work in early September. Four days later, the store manager called Robbins to tell him he’d been fired.
“Federal law protects the right of servicemembers like Captain Robbins to resume their jobs when they return home,” U.S. Department of Justice deputy assistant attorney General Pamela S. Karlan said Tuesday in a news release. “It guarantees that members of the armed forces are not forced to sacrifice their continued employment on top of the sacrifices they have already made in order to fulfill their military obligations.”
Robbins’ lawyers are asking that Ashley HomeStore’s parent company pay any lost wages or benefits resulting from his termination. They’re also asking for a jury trial.
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