Background and Procedural History
In May, the 15th Court of Appeals—the exclusive appellate court for Texas business courts cases—issued a notable employment-law decision in Texas Department of Public Safety v. Torres, 2026 WL 1251046 (Tex. App.–15th Dist. 2026, no pet. history). The case is the first business court case involving the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”). USSERA is the law that prevents employers from discriminating against men and women who serve in the military.
The plaintiff/employee, Mr. Torres, was a Texas state trooper and also an active reservist in the Army Reserve. During his Iraq deployment, Mr. Torres experienced prolonged exposure to toxic burn pits. DPS promptly reemployed him after he returned from the war. A year later, doctors diagnosed Mr. Torres with a serious and debilitating lung condition linked to his firepit exposure during the Iraq War.
Mr. Torres sought a permanent accommodation and transfer to a job in the Driver’s License Office. His supervisor recommended approval and Torres remained working in the Driver’s License Office in the modified-duty role while awaiting a final decision. However, DPS’s human resources department never responded to Torres’ request for permanent reassignment before Torres resigned.
The legal issue before the court was whether USERRA’s reemployment protections applied when an employee discovers a military service-related disability only after returning to work.
Torres Sues for Failure to Accommodate
Torres sued DPS for constructive discharge under USERRA’s anti-discrimination provision, which prohibits the denial of employment, reemployment, retention, or promotion, on the basis of military service. USERRA prohibits discrimination when military service was a “motivating factor” in the employer’s decision.
Other provisions of USERRA require an employer to promptly reemploy a returning service member in the same job the returning veteran would have attained absent military service. In other words, if the returning service member served for two years and would have received a promotion had s/he not left the job, the returning service member is entitled to that promotion. Where a military service-related disability prevents performance of the job they held before serving in the military, the employer must provide a reasonable accommodation.
Importantly, these provisions do not require proof of the employer’s discriminatory intent.
The Court’s Key Holding
The central issue for the business court was whether USERRA’s statutory reemployment protections “restart” when a service-related disability is discovered only after the service member has already been reemployed. The Court of Appeals held that since Mr. Torres’ reemployment had already begun before he discovered the service-related disability, he had to prove discrimination by his employer. Therefore, because Mr. Torres had been re-employed, he must prove that military service was a motivating factor in the challenged employment decision in order to win his discrimination case.
USERRA provides strong protections against any type of discrimination or retaliation against people serving in the US military. Our USERRA and business court lawyers are aware of the rights of our country’s service men and women, Rogge Dunn won a $7.9 million arbitration award against Goldman Sachs for a colonel whom Goldman Sachs discriminated against while on his weekend leave for the Army Reserve.
How the USERRA and Business Court Attorneys at Rogge Dunn Group Can Help
The USERRA and business court attorneys at the Rogge Dunn Group represent businesses and individuals in complex employment and business disputes, including matters involving service members, first responders, USSERA law, accommodation issues, and litigation in the Texas business courts. If you have questions or need help, our team of USERRA and business court lawyers are ready to provide strategic advice to help avoid a legal dispute.