LABOR LAW-VETERAN\u27S REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS-DURATION OF SENIORITY BEYOND ONE YEAR PERIOD

At the time of his induction into the Armed Forces, plaintiff was employed as a locomotive machinist at defendant\u27s Loyall shop. This shop was transferred to Corbin during his absence, and, upon discharge from military service, plaintiff was reemployed there with seniority from July 17, 1946, the date of his return. In April, 1947, plaintiff filed his complaint under section 8, Selective Training and Service Act, alleging that had he not been in the Armed Forces he would have been transferred to the Corbin shop with seniority from July 1, 1945. The collective bargaining agent of the machinist employees of the defendant intervened and later moved to dismiss on the ground that more than one year had then elapsed since plaintiff was reemployed. In a second case in which intervening defendants also moved for dismissal, the veteran did not file his complaint until nearly three months after the expiration of his first year of reemployment. The district court dismissed both actions and the court of appeals affirmed. On appeal, held, reversed and remanded. The seniority status secured by the act continues beyond the first year of reemployment subject to the advantages and limitations applicable to other employees. Oakley v. Louisville & Nashville R. Co., (U.S. 1949) 70 S.Ct. 119