Opinion ID: 805030
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Petty I

Text: Petty sued, alleging violations of the reemployment and antidiscrimination provisions of USERRA. He alleged that Metro violated his USERRA rights by (1) delaying his rehire for the purpose of subjecting him to Metro’s return-to-work process; (2) failing to reinstate him to his previously held position; and (3) denying him permission to engage in extra-duty employment as a security guard. Both parties moved for summary judgment, and the district court granted Metro’s motion on all claims except those arising from the denial of Petty’s request for off-duty work. The off-duty- Nos. 10-6013/6105 Petty v. Metro. Gov’t of Nashville Page 5 work claim proceeded to a bench trial, after which the district court entered a judgment on partial findings in favor of Metro. See id. at 438. Petty appealed. During the pendency of Petty’s appeal, Metro continued its second investigation into Petty’s suspected dishonesty. This investigation initially focused on Petty’s submission of an incomplete DD-214, but evolved into an examination of Petty’s veracity during Metro’s return-to-work process and the OPA’s initial investigation. In late 2007, Metro held a disciplinary hearing on whether Petty “submitted a materially false statement,” “withheld information regarding [his] military investigation,” and “attempt[ed] to conceal the terms of [his] discharge from military duty.” After the hearing, Metro terminated Petty. Following Petty’s termination, Metro notified the Peace Officer Standards Training (“POST”) Commission of the circumstances of Petty’s discharge, causing the Commission to suspend Petty’s certification to work as a police officer in Tennessee. Several months after Petty’s termination, we heard oral argument on his appeal. In Petty I, we held that USERRA’s reemployment provisions barred Metro from requiring Petty to comply with its return-to-work procedures. See id. at 442. We further held that Metro’s delay of Petty’s reemployment during its second investigation—which examined his alleged dishonesty during Metro’s return-to-work process—violated USERRA’s reemployment provision. See id. at 443-44. Because Petty qualified for reemployment, we held, USERRA required Metro to fully reemploy Petty, regardless of any honesty issues arising from Metro’s return-to-work process. Id. at 444. Accordingly, Petty I (1) reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Metro on Petty’s reemployment claims; (2) vacated the district court’s grant of judgment on partial findings to Metro with respect to Petty’s discrimination claim; and (3) remanded the case to the district court with instructions to enter summary judgment in favor of Petty on his reemployment claims, to determine the damages, and to conduct further proceedings with regard to Petty’s discrimination claim. See id. at 447. The Petty I court first learned of Petty’s termination at oral argument. See id. at 444 n.7. Accordingly, our decision in Petty I noted that Petty’s termination might Nos. 10-6013/6105 Petty v. Metro. Gov’t of Nashville Page 6 prevent Metro from placing Petty in his original position as patrol sergeant, but left the issue for the district court to determine on remand. Id. When the case returned to the district court, Petty filed a supplemental complaint claiming that Metro’s termination constituted discrimination and retaliation in violation of USERRA. Both parties conducted additional discovery and again filed cross-motions for summary judgment.