Third Veteran Dumped By Trump Because Of Military Service

[kevindavis007]

Col. Charles Beattie served in Vietnam, but was denied a job with Trump Shuttle because of his military service.


WASHINGTON — The myth of Donald Trump reached its zenith in 1988, the year that his book, The Art of the Deal, was published. That year, Trump bought the Plaza Hotel, a crown jewel of New York real estate; he also bought a 282-foot yacht, and a fleet of airplanes owned by Eastern Air, which he renamed the Trump Shuttle. 


This airline would be among the first of Trump’s companies to be sued for violating laws aimed at protecting the jobs of military veterans who are called up for service.


Fast forward 30 years, and Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, having mounted a successful outsider’s bid in part around his promises to take care of America’s veterans.


Yet in at least three cases, Trump’s companies have either fired, or refused to hire, military reservists because of the time commitments demanded of them by their service in the armed forces. The veterans involved have sued Trump for violating the laws meant to protect them from precisely these types of penalties. And in all three cases, Trump and his companies have settled the suits.


The Huffington Post already reported on the first two of these cases — one involving an Air Force senior master sergeant fired from the Trump Institute in 2007, and one an Army staff sergeant fired from her job at Trump University that same year.


These two cases, however, have a predecessor. On May 27, 1988, United States Air Force Col. Charles Beattie submitted orders to his bosses at Eastern Airlines, where he worked as a pilot.


According to the orders, Beattie was to attend the elite Industrial College of the Armed Forces for nine months, starting in August. As required by law, Eastern Airlines granted Beattie a leave of absence to fulfill his military service commitment.


While Beattie was deployed to the Industrial College, a high-flying Donald Trump, just 42 years old, bought Eastern Air for $365 million.


Beattie and Trump were practically the same age. Beattie had graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1967, just a year before Trump got his degree from Wharton. After college, Beattie flew C-130s in combat during the Vietnam War.


Trump, however, avoided serving in Vietnam — he got four student deferments from the draft and a medical disqualification for bone spurs in his foot. When Beattie returned home from combat, he stayed in the reserves, retiring from the U.S. Air Force Reserve in 1993 as a full colonel.


Everyone, including Eastern Air executives, thought Trump had paid too much for the troubled carrier. But Trump, determined to put his name on a fleet of commercial jets, was ecstatic. At the launch of the new Trump Shuttle, guests were treated to a string quartet and champagne. Asked by a reporter whether the airline takeover was boost to his ego, Trump replied, “Truthfully, it was great for the Trump ego.”


As part of the deal Trump signed with Eastern for the shuttle service, Trump was required to offer employment to all Eastern personnel. All told, Trump Shuttle hired around 200 pilots from Eastern Air. But it did not hire Beattie.


According to a judicial opinion in Beattie’s 1990 lawsuit against Trump Shuttle, the new company insisted that all pilots be available to start work on Feb. 1, 1989.


Beattie had applied for a job with Trump Shuttle, like the rest of his fellow Eastern pilots, but his orders from the Army college required that he stay until June to complete his assignment. For his would-be bosses at Trump Shuttle, that was a deal-breaker.


Read More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-fires-veterans-military-service_us_57509590e4b0c3752dcd08cf?section=politics


I wonder how is the Trump Shuttle doing these days??

[Mesaclone]

Col. Charles Beattie served in Vietnam, but was denied a job with Trump Shuttle because of his military service.


WASHINGTON — The myth of Donald Trump reached its zenith in 1988, the year that his book, The Art of the Deal, was published. That year, Trump bought the Plaza Hotel, a crown jewel of New York real estate; he also bought a 282-foot yacht, and a fleet of airplanes owned by Eastern Air, which he renamed the Trump Shuttle. 


This airline would be among the first of Trump’s companies to be sued for violating laws aimed at protecting the jobs of military veterans who are called up for service.


Fast forward 30 years, and Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, having mounted a successful outsider’s bid in part around his promises to take care of America’s veterans.


Yet in at least three cases, Trump’s companies have either fired, or refused to hire, military reservists because of the time commitments demanded of them by their service in the armed forces. The veterans involved have sued Trump for violating the laws meant to protect them from precisely these types of penalties. And in all three cases, Trump and his companies have settled the suits.


The Huffington Post already reported on the first two of these cases — one involving an Air Force senior master sergeant fired from the Trump Institute in 2007, and one an Army staff sergeant fired from her job at Trump University that same year.


These two cases, however, have a predecessor. On May 27, 1988, United States Air Force Col. Charles Beattie submitted orders to his bosses at Eastern Airlines, where he worked as a pilot.


According to the orders, Beattie was to attend the elite Industrial College of the Armed Forces for nine months, starting in August. As required by law, Eastern Airlines granted Beattie a leave of absence to fulfill his military service commitment.


While Beattie was deployed to the Industrial College, a high-flying Donald Trump, just 42 years old, bought Eastern Air for $365 million.


Beattie and Trump were practically the same age. Beattie had graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1967, just a year before Trump got his degree from Wharton. After college, Beattie flew C-130s in combat during the Vietnam War.


Trump, however, avoided serving in Vietnam — he got four student deferments from the draft and a medical disqualification for bone spurs in his foot. When Beattie returned home from combat, he stayed in the reserves, retiring from the U.S. Air Force Reserve in 1993 as a full colonel.


Everyone, including Eastern Air executives, thought Trump had paid too much for the troubled carrier. But Trump, determined to put his name on a fleet of commercial jets, was ecstatic. At the launch of the new Trump Shuttle, guests were treated to a string quartet and champagne. Asked by a reporter whether the airline takeover was boost to his ego, Trump replied, “Truthfully, it was great for the Trump ego.”


As part of the deal Trump signed with Eastern for the shuttle service, Trump was required to offer employment to all Eastern personnel. All told, Trump Shuttle hired around 200 pilots from Eastern Air. But it did not hire Beattie.


According to a judicial opinion in Beattie’s 1990 lawsuit against Trump Shuttle, the new company insisted that all pilots be available to start work on Feb. 1, 1989.


Beattie had applied for a job with Trump Shuttle, like the rest of his fellow Eastern pilots, but his orders from the Army college required that he stay until June to complete his assignment. For his would-be bosses at Trump Shuttle, that was a deal-breaker.


Read More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-fires-veterans-military-service_us_57509590e4b0c3752dcd08cf?section=politics


I wonder how is the Trump Shuttle doing these days??

Trump owns/employs a massive number of companies, employees  and coporations and this was almost 30 years ago...incredibly weak and if that's all the "Oppo" research is coming up with then Donald has evidently been incredibly ethical throughout his career.

For Pete's sakes, do you have ANY evidence whatsoever that he even knew who this guy was? If not, this article has no value or relevance at all.

[Mechanicos]

#4Hillary crowd appears to be not only be desperate but a little masochistic.

 

[RedHead]

I wonder how is the Trump Shuttle doing these days??

About as well as Trump Magazine and not as well as Trump Steaks.

[RedHead]

#4Hillary crowd appears to be not only be desperate but a little masochistic.

 

And the Trump Chumps will back Sleazy Donald no matter what he does.

[Wingnut]

And the Trump Chumps will back Sleazy Donald no matter what he does.

To the sleazy used car salesman COE that personifies Trump. He sees Pregnancy and hiring vets is an 'Inconvenience' to his company as employees. 

[libertybele]

To Trump Pregnancy and hiring vets is an 'Inconvenience' to his company as employees.

Exactly.  He sees them as a detriment rather than an asset to his bottom line.

[Mesaclone]

Exactly.  He sees them as a detriment rather than an asset to his bottom line.

You guys are being ridiculous. There is a reason Vets and active duty soldiers are supporting Trump with heavy majorities...and its because they know he is looking out for their interests. They aren't stupid, or hoodwinked, or bamboozled or even naive...as you would paint them. They see Donald, they hear him...and they like him in huge numbers. Its really not complicated.

[sneakypete]

To the sleazy used car salesman COE that personifies Trump. He sees Pregnancy and hiring vets is an 'Inconvenience' to his company as employees.

Of course he does. He is a narcissistic sociopath who thinks "It's all about me,ME,ME,DAMMIT!" Those little people are speed bumps that get in the way of his magnificence.

[Mesaclone]

Of course he does. He is a narcissistic sociopath who thinks "It's all about me,ME,ME,DAMMIT!" Those little people are speed bumps that get in the way of his magnificence.

Gotta love the amateur psychiatrists here on the site with their on the spot diagnosis of a man they've never spoken with. Where'd you get your psych degree from...a box of crackerjacks?

[Wingnut]

Gotta love the amateur psychiatrists here on the site with their on the spot diagnosis of a man they've never spoken with. Where'd you get your psych degree from...a box of crackerjacks?

Don't be foolish.  Everyone knows there ain't no coup de ville or college degrees hiding at the bottom of a crackerjack box.

[sneakypete]

Gotta love the amateur psychiatrists here on the site with their on the spot diagnosis of a man they've never spoken with. Where'd you get your psych degree from...a box of crackerjacks?

You don't have to be a weatherman to recognize the rain,numbnuts.

Everything that pompous loser says and does screams "insanity". If you can't see it,it says a lot about you.

[Neverdul]

@kevindavis  - You beat me in posting this as I was going to post it this morning.

According to U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Flannery, this is how it played out:

(1) Trump extended offers of employment to all Eastern employees based upon their seniority status; (2) Beattie was an Eastern pilot possessing the requisite seniority; (3) Trump declined to hire Beattie based upon his unavailability on the specified commencement date; and (4) Beattie’s unavailability was caused by his military commitment.

In response to Beattie’s legal claim, Trump’s lawyers argued that Beattie had been denied a job because he was “unavailable,” not because he was a reservist. They also claimed that Beattie’s attendance at the Army college was “voluntary,” and therefore not a real military “obligation.” The judge threw out these arguments. According to case files, Beattie’s case was settled with a consent judgment in November of 1991.

Ruling:

http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/758/30/1809057/

In my over 30 years in HR/Payroll, I’ve been involved in a few corporate mergers and acquisitions. These transactions can be very complicated depending on how they are structured – what obligations are outlined in the legal documents as to the responsibilities of the predecessor and the successor company to retain and or re-hire employees, on continuation or the transition of health and welfare benefits, 401k’s etc. of the purchasing company.

In this case, it would, by my summary reading and interpretation of the ruling, seems to me that hiring preferences were given to former United pilots with a higher preference given to those with seniority - which Beattie had.

As the judge (who FWIW is not “Mexican”) found that Trump Shuttle refused to hire Beattie because he would not be available to start work on Feb. 1, 1989 but he also noted that Trump Shuttle did not actually commence operations until June 7, 1989.  The judge also ruled that under the law, Beattie’s 9-month enrollment at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces was not “voluntary” contrary to what Trump Shuttle asserted  – “At the time of Trump's offer of employment, Beattie was nearing the mid-point of his attendance at the Industrial College. Further, Beattie was attending the college under orders from his commanding officer. Even though he had requested these orders, and thus if his decision to enroll at the college could be characterized as voluntary, his completion of his course of studies became mandatory upon his matriculation. Beattie was under orders to attend the Industrial College until June 15, 1989, and when Trump extended its offer of employment in December 1988, Beattie was not at liberty to abandon his military duties in order to make himself available for immediate employment. In short, his attendance at the Industrial College had become an "obligation" from which he was unable to withdraw, unlike the plaintiff in Kolkhorst, who was held to be protected by § 2021(b) (3).
 
When United granted military leave to Beattie and when Trump Shuttle purchased the fleet and that part of their operations from United and when Trump Shuttle made offers to existing pilots based on seniority, Trump Shuttle also incurred the obligation to honor Beattie’s prior military commitment.

It would be analogous to a company purchasing another company and offering continuation or re-employment to the employees of the preceding company but refusing to offer continuation or re-employment to a woman who happened to be out on an approved maternity leave or an employee out on another FMLA protected short term disability leave or even an employee out on a worker’s comp claim at the time of the acquisition. Those employees are protected under FMLA or under USERRA and the successor company is obligated to honor the prior company’s obligations to those employees on such leaves.

http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/view/story.jhtml?id=6394499

What Are the Obligations to Employees Who Were Someone Else's Employees?

USERRA covers "successors in interest." An employer can be liable as a successor in interest even if it was unaware that an employee may claim reemployment rights when the employer acquired the business. It is not necessary for an employer to have notice of a potential reemployment claim at the time of merger, acquisition, or other form of succession.

This has caused practical, as well as legal problems for employers where, for example, the previous employer's employee and an employee of the successor employer both take military leave from the same position, and then return simultaneously, or even subsequently, claiming reemployment rights to the same position. Although this scenario may seem remote, in fact, it has occurred and will occur with more frequency as the periods of deployments are lengthened and as the trend toward mergers and acquisitions continue.

The only practical advice for HR professionals of successor employers is always to inquire whether any employees of the previous employers are on military leave. Also, it would be courteous for the previous employer to so inform the successor employer at the time of the merger or acquisition.

How does USERRA address such contingencies? It provides that if two or more employees are entitled to the same position and more than one employee has reported or applied for employment in that position, the employee who first left the position for uniformed service has the first priority. The remaining employee is entitled to be reemployed in a similar position, to be determined in accordance with the rules for reemployment positions generally.

[Mechanicos]

Veterans overwhelmingly support Trump & #4Hillary fails again. 

Keep using the Compost research crew and 30 year old garbage to stay busy - while we laugh at ya.

[kevindavis007]

@kevindavis  - You beat me in posting this as I was going to post it this morning.

Ruling:

http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/758/30/1809057/

In my over 30 years in HR/Payroll, I’ve been involved in a few corporate mergers and acquisitions. These transactions can be very complicated depending on how they are structured – what obligations are outlined in the legal documents as to the responsibilities of the predecessor and the successor company to retain and or re-hire employees, on continuation or the transition of health and welfare benefits, 401k’s etc. of the purchasing company.

In this case, it would, by my summary reading and interpretation of the ruling, seems to me that hiring preferences were given to former United pilots with a higher preference given to those with seniority - which Beattie had.

As the judge (who FWIW is not “Mexican”) found that Trump Shuttle refused to hire Beattie because he would not be available to start work on Feb. 1, 1989 but he also noted that Trump Shuttle did not actually commence operations until June 7, 1989.  The judge also ruled that under the law, Beattie’s 9-month enrollment at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces was not “voluntary” contrary to what Trump Shuttle asserted  – “At the time of Trump's offer of employment, Beattie was nearing the mid-point of his attendance at the Industrial College. Further, Beattie was attending the college under orders from his commanding officer. Even though he had requested these orders, and thus if his decision to enroll at the college could be characterized as voluntary, his completion of his course of studies became mandatory upon his matriculation. Beattie was under orders to attend the Industrial College until June 15, 1989, and when Trump extended its offer of employment in December 1988, Beattie was not at liberty to abandon his military duties in order to make himself available for immediate employment. In short, his attendance at the Industrial College had become an "obligation" from which he was unable to withdraw, unlike the plaintiff in Kolkhorst, who was held to be protected by § 2021(b) (3).
 
When United granted military leave to Beattie and when Trump Shuttle purchased the fleet and that part of their operations from United and when Trump Shuttle made offers to existing pilots based on seniority, Trump Shuttle also incurred the obligation to honor Beattie’s prior military commitment.

It would be analogous to a company purchasing another company and offering continuation or re-employment to the employees of the preceding company but refusing to offer continuation or re-employment to a woman who happened to be out on an approved maternity leave or an employee out on another FMLA protected short term disability leave or even an employee out on a worker’s comp claim at the time of the acquisition. Those employees are protected under FMLA or under USERRA and the successor company is obligated to honor the prior company’s obligations to those employees on such leaves.

http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/view/story.jhtml?id=6394499

@Neverdul


LOL, I have a feeling there is more..

[Mesaclone]

Still waiting on you to show that Mr. Trump even knew who this man was or anything personally about his hiring/non-hiring.

Whatcha got?

[sneakypete]

Still waiting on you to show that Mr. Trump even knew who this man was or anything personally about his hiring/non-hiring.

Whatcha got?

So,you are making the claim that "Genius businessman and semi-God on a BAD day",Donald Trump is NOT responsible for the business decisions and policies of the businesses he owns,but IS responsible for their success?

[kevindavis007]

So,you are making the claim that "Genius businessman and semi-God on a BAD day",Donald Trump is NOT responsible for the business decisions and policies of the businesses he owns,but IS responsible for their success?

I was hoping to fly on Trump Shuttle and watch the New Jersey Generals..

[Wingnut]

I was hoping to fly on Trump Shuttle and watch the New Jersey Generals..

Is the in-flight meal Trump Steaks?  Or was the Trump-Kee-Bob at the Giants Stadium concessions?

[HonestJohn]

Military personnel are not supporting Trump in anywhere near the same percentages as past Republican candidates.

[RoosGirl]

Trump owns/employs a massive number of companies, employees  and coporations and this was almost 30 years ago...incredibly weak and if that's all the "Oppo" research is coming up with then Donald has evidently been incredibly ethical throughout his career.

For Pete's sakes, do you have ANY evidence whatsoever that he even knew who this guy was? If not, this article has no value or relevance at all.

One guy was 30 years ago.  There are 2 more that are more recent.  Are there any we don't know about in between?  Maybe, maybe not.  Two completely different entities owned by Trump using the same MO 30 years apart.  What's the common denominator?  Seems like there is enough information to at least make you wonder if this was an unstated corporate policy.

[kevindavis007]

Is the in-flight meal Trump Steaks?  Or was the Trump-Kee-Bob at the Giants Stadium concessions?

Who knows.

[Mesaclone]

Military personnel are not supporting Trump in anywhere near the same percentages as past Republican candidates.

Troops Prefer Trump to Clinton by Huge Margins
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/election/2016/05/09/military-times-survey-donald-trump-beats-hillary-clinton/84132402/

Meanwhile, in 2012, Romney did very poorly for a Republican across Military areas of the United States.
http://www.patchworknation.org/node/78

[Mesaclone]

So,you are making the claim that "Genius businessman and semi-God on a BAD day",Donald Trump is NOT responsible for the business decisions and policies of the businesses he owns,but IS responsible for their success?

No. I'm telling you a man with 30,000 employees is not going to be directly involved in the hiring and firing of every individual employee...in fact, a businessman is going to hire only a few key players directly and the rest are delegated to managers. Its a delegated task, and given that this supposedly happened 30 years ago its an absurd reach to pretend Trump fired this guy personally. Its an embarrassingly bad attempt to create a negative perception using something he almost certainly had no involvement in whatsoever.

[Texas Yellow Rose]

No. I'm telling you a man with 30,000 employees is not going to be directly involved in the hiring and firing of every individual employee...in fact, a businessman is going to hire only a few key players directly and the rest are delegated to managers. Its a delegated task, and given that this supposedly happened 30 years ago its an absurd reach to pretend Trump fired this guy personally. Its an embarrassingly bad attempt to create a negative perception using something he almost certainly had no involvement in whatsoever.

Under normal circumstances I would agree with you.  However, the decision not to honor the terms of the acquisition was an executive decision not a managerial one.