Evening star., 1946-02-20
Court Ruling 10 Clarity
Veterans Job Rights,
Hershey Tells Legion

The extent of veterans rights to
their former jobs have divided
courts in their Interpretation of
superseniority. Maj. Gen. Lewis B.
Hershey, chief of Selective Service,
reported today.
He told the American Legion Ma
tional Employment Committee Con-
ference at the Hotel Statler that two
courts have upheld the rights of
veterans 'to absolute reinstatement
and continuance in the job for one
year so long as such jobs are avail
able"
| In two other decisions, however,
Gen. Hershey declared "the courts
declared that the veteran was not
entitled to continuous work follow
ing reinstatement if his seniority
placed him in position where he
ordinarily would have been laid Off"
Appeals Ruling Awaited.
A Circuit Court of Appeals ruling,
expected soon, will have great
weight on this issue which is arous-
ing much concern among veterans,
he said.
Gen. Hershey paid tribute to the VOL
unteer work of local Selective Serv-
ice Board in amicably settling job dis
putes for returning veterans Thou
sands of requests have been made
for help in getting former jobs back,
but fewer than 300 have gone as far
as the Justice Department, he said.
Courts have heard IT, another A are
docketed and 205 are in the hands
Of district attorneys to determine if
grounds exist for court action.
Gen. Hershey said the term super
seniority is a misnomer since the
veterans seniority accrued during
military service and is not affected
by his employment preference under
the law.
Could Displace Non-Veteran.
Selective service and the Justice
Department, he told the Legion, con-
strue the selective service law as
emitting the veteran to return to his
former position even If it means
displacing a nonveteran. Exceptions
are made for the physically handi-
capped or if the employer goes out
of business.
With more than 100000 veterans
drawing unemployment compensa-
ton, the American Legion an
nounced at the conference it will
launch program to attain maxi
mum employment. Lawrence j..
Fenlon of Chicago, chairman of the
Legion's Employment Committee,
declared the country will need to-
provide 55,000,000 jobs in 1947 to-
maintain a healthy economy. This
is approximately 100000 more than
in 1943, he said.
The Legion's plan, he declared,
proposes that communities initiate
research and surveys on job oppor-
tunities, particularly in the field of
sales, service and distribution.
Rights Called Myth.
Veterans rights under the re-
employment law ARE more myth
than reality" Meyer Bernstein, as
Isistant to the chairman of the CIO
Veterans Committee, told the con-
ference. Although the act provides
dubious reinstatement privileges for
those who had jobs before induc-
ton, he declared, the law simply
makes no provision whatever for the
very servicemen who. being hurt in
body and mind, made the greatest
sacrifices in the war
If the United States could use its
national strength to fight war, it
should, also, use it for the peace.
IF We show any tendency to revert
to the Illustration of the early '30s,
then We ought to have ready for i'm
mediate and automatic use, the gov
ernmental industrial life-saving
methods developed and proved dur
ing the war" he said. 1T will be
too late If we wait to see if creep
ing economic paralysis will stop be-
fore the danger point"
Herman B. Byer of the Bureau of
Labor Statistics declared that while
unemployment is now increasing
and 250,000 veterans are making new
claims for unemployment compen-
sation each week, employment will
rise persistently during 1916"
I'VE are in fact at the threshold
Of an economic movement which
may take us into full-employment
situation-if We keep potentially in
| f1ationary forces in hand" he de-
clared. He declared the volume of
employment has remained virtually
stable at 5l,500000 since September
and that the total of unemployed