Foster v. Dravo Corp., 420 U.S. 92 (1975)

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

Syllabus

The Military Selective Service Act provides that a veteran who applies for reemployment if still qualified shall be restored by his employer to his former position "or a position of like seniority, status, and pay." The Act further assures that benefits and advancements that would necessarily have accrued by virtue of continued employment will not be denied the veteran merely because of his absence in the military service. These provisions, however, do not apply to claimed benefits requiring more than simple continued status as an employee.

Held:

1. In this case, the Act’s provisions do not entitle petitioner employee to full vacation benefits for the years he was in military service, under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement that conditioned the award of such benefits on the receipt of earnings during 25 weeks of the previous year, since the vacation scheme was intended as a form of short-term deferred compensation for work performed, and not as accruing automatically as a function of continued association with the company. Pp. 96-101.

2. Whether petitioner might be entitled to some pro rata vacation benefits under a contract provision applicable to those employees who were unable to accumulate the minimum of 25 weeks’ employment because of layoffs should be determined by the District Court on remand. Pp. 101-102.

490 F.2d 55, affirmed. ,

MARSHALL, J., wrote the opinion of the Court, in which all other Members joined except DOUGLAS, J., who took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.