William 'SKY' King v. ST. Vincent's Hospital (502 U.S. 215)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided December 16, 1991 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 502 U.S. 215 · 112 S. Ct. 570
- Decided
- December 16, 1991
- Term
- October Term 1991
- Vote
- 8–0
- Majority author
- Justice Souter
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Souter delivered the opinion of the Court. The issue in this case is whether 38 U. S. C. § 2024(d), a provision of what is popularly known as the Veterans’ Reemployment Rights Act, implicitly limits the length of military service after which a member of the Armed Forces retains a right to civilian reemployment. We hold that it does not. I In June 1987, petitioner William “Sky” King, a member of the Alabama National Guard, applied to become command sergeant major in the Active Guard/Reserve (AGR) program, and thereby undertook to serve the 3-year tour of duty required by Army regulations of the person holding that position. The next month King learned of his selection and advised his employer, respondent St. Vincent’s Hospital, that he had accepted the Guard’s 3-year full-time appointment. He requested a leave of absence from his hospital job as ostensibly guaranteed by the Act and reported for military duty, as ordered, on August 17. Several weeks later, St. Vincent’s advised him that his request was unreasonable and thus beyond the Act’s guarantee. After so informing King, St. Vincent’s took the further step of bringing a declaratory judgment action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama to settle the issue whether the applicable terms of the Act provided reemployment rights after tours of duty as long as King’s. Although the court…
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