Ryan Taylor joined the U.S. Postal Service after learning about its reputation for supporting military employees. Now he questions whether that reputation was fairly earned.

The U.S. Army Reserve sergeant says he lost his job at the Sandy post office in October after missing two weeks of work to attend an Army training school and missing an additional day with a migraine -- something he's occasionally suffered from since returning from a tour of duty in Iraq.

Taylor didn't understand his firing. The post office has received awards for its commitment to military employees, he said, "yet it is the commitment that I have to the U.S. Army that leads to my termination."

Taylor's complaint to the federal government about the loss of his job is one of nearly 7,000 such situations reported over the past five years under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), which protects the jobs of military service members.

Last year alone, officials took in 1,510 cases -- the most since the start of the Iraq war -- and recovered more than $1.8 million in lost wages.

At least 43 cases were filed in Utah in the past five years, but there are believed to have been more. A pilot program shifted some of Utah's caseload to another agency for two years, likely resulting in an undercount.

As acting chief of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel's USERRA unit, Patrick Boulay only reviews cases involving federal government agencies -- others are handled by different federal offices. Boulay said there seems to be a better understanding among federal employers about their obligations under the law.

"But there is a lack of understanding about the details -- about the actual requirements and how demanding they can be, how exacting they can be," he said. "The law is very much designed and set up where the burden falls on the employers more than the employees."

Boulay said one common misconception is that the law only protects those involuntarily called into service. "If you decide to go serve, it protects you in those cases too," he said, noting that includes both overseas service and training.

Taylor's complaint is still pending. U.S. Postal Service spokesman Ron Hubrich said he could not comment on Taylor's case, but said that the Postal Service "always has done a lot for veterans."

"When you take the initial test, they have extra points for veterans," he noted. "We are always very supportive of them in any way possible.

Mark Harrison, program support specialist for Utah's Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve committee, said the state's employers generally want to comply with the law, but sometimes they need help. And that's why he has a job.

"We're their go-to contact," said Harrison. "We're more than willing to go to any employer, and any chambers of commerce and do whatever we can to help them understand what the law is and how to implement it into their employment policies."

mlaplante@sltrib.com