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Feds sue on behalf of Truman police officer

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Oct 4, 2011 at 8:51 am

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The U.S. Justice Department is suing a southern Minnesota city for not giving a police officer his full-time job back after he served overseas in the military.

The lawsuit was filed Friday on behalf of Navy reservist Michael Schutz, It alleges the city of Truman violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act by making Schutz a part-time officer after he returned from Kuwait and retaliating against him after he filed a federal claim to get his full-time position.

The Star Tribune reports the alleged retaliation involved placing Schutz on administrative leave for about three weeks and moving to fire him.

Jon Iverson, an attorney representing the city, said Monday that Truman shifted Schutz to part-time for budgetary reasons and for no other reason.