Truman Settles Police Officer's Employment Claim

The southern Minnesota city of Truman and the federal government have settled an employment claim filed by a police officer who served in Kuwait.
    
The U.S. Justice Department had sued the city for not giving Navy reservist Michael Schutz his full-time job back after he served overseas in the military.
    
The lawsuit alleged the city violated federal law by making Schutz a part-time officer. The city denied violating the law and maintained it had shifted Shutz to part-time solely for budgetary reasons.
    
Under the agreement, Truman must pay Schutz $11,000 - the value of unpaid benefits - and provide him with 40 additional hours of vacation time for 2012 and 2013.
    
Schutz returned to full-time work as a police office last March. He says all he wanted was his job back.
    
Jon Iverson, an attorney for Truman, says the city settled to avoid litigation expenses.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
 

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