My Military Deployment Cost Me My Job at BYU: How the 'Lord's University' Broke Federal Law
For nearly 24 years, I worked for organizations owned or operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Before that, I spent roughly eight years working at Brigham Young University in a variety of roles—from janitor to teaching assistant, research assistant, assistant faculty, and university instructor.
Then I was mobilized with the Utah Army National Guard in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Before deploying, I notified all of my employers, including BYU. When I returned from overseas and asked for my position back, I was told, "Don't hold your breath."
Federal law—the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)—requires employers to restore returning service members to the positions they would have held had they not been called to military service, or to an equivalent position if the original one no longer exists. In my experience, that didn't happen at BYU.
In this video, I share my personal story:
• How I started working at BYU just one week after graduating high school.
• My years teaching and working in multiple university departments.
• Being mobilized for military service in Iraq.
• Returning home to discover my job was gone.
• Why I chose not to file a complaint against BYU at the time.
• How another university handled the exact same situation very differently.
• Why I believe faith influenced my decision to remain silent for years.
This is my recollection of events and my perspective based on my own experiences.
I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. If you've experienced USERRA protections—or believe an employer failed to honor them—feel free to share your story.
#BYU #USERRA #Veterans #Military #ArmyNationalGuard #OperationIraqiFreedom #IraqWar #EmploymentLaw #LDS #Mormon #ExMormon #BrighamYoungUniversity
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