CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Some people believe veteran rights within the workforce could be clearly defined at the Nueces County Courthouse.
On the last week of September, a years-long legal dispute between Robstown veteran, Le Roy Torres. and the State of Texas resumed. The jury was selected Monday morning. Opening statements and witness testimony followed on Tuesday.
Torres, the co-founder of the non-profit organization Burn Pits 360 and the driving force behind the Pact Act, initially filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) because he claimed he was pressured to resign from his state trooper role at the DPS.
The United States Army veteran was hired as a state trooper in 1998 before he was deployed to Iraq in 2007. Torres currently suffers permanent lung damage from exposure to military burn pits during his time in service.
When he returned to state police duty in 2008, Torres said his symptoms from burn-pit exposure became prevalent.
During Tuesday's proceedings in the courtroom, Torres' attorneys claimed the U.S. veteran submitted formal requests of permanent accommodation. Torres was temporarily placed in other roles within DPS administration offices, keeping his trooper salary.
However, Torres said as his medical condition grew worse he needed to make sure he had permanent accommodations, which is a request he claims was never directly addressed by DPS.
Eventually, Torres said he was pressured to leave the force.
According to email documents presented as evidence in court, he initially requested medical retirement on August 6, 2012. He said on-going medical procedures and running out of paid leave forced him to consider this as the only option. The email was sent when Torres was undergoing medical treatment in Utah.
Torres' attorneys also noted another email dating back to August 31, 2012. The email, addressed to his supervisor said, "I have updated the memo as instructed by Captain Lawson. The revised form is attached." The email refers to an alleged request by Torres' supervisor, instructing Torres to submit a resignation letter instead of a medical retirement request. Torres was only four years away from retirement at the time.
Torres' has been seeking a resolution for several years. His legal battle has made its way through the court system like a rollercoaster.
In 2017, Torres sued DPS in Texas state court under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (“USERRA”), a federal statute that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of a person’s military service. USERRA authorizes actions in state courts against the states in their capacity as employers.
Torres alleged that DPS violated USERRA by declining to grant his request for a new assignment. Torres sought damages for lost wages and benefits. DPS objected to jurisdiction by pleading sovereign immunity.
After the trial court rejected DPS’s objection to jurisdiction, the Department appealed to the Texas Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals found in favor of DPS, concluding that, under the Supreme Court’s decisions in Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida and Alden v. Maine, USERRA’s purported abrogation of state sovereign immunity was invalid.
However, when the former Texas trooper brought this case to the United States Supreme Court, a majority of justices sided with him in June of 2022. They wrote that states do not have immunity from private lawsuits by veterans under USERRA. The decision remanded the case for further proceedings, which brought Torres back to the courtroom in 2023.
During his testimony at the witness stand, Torres said, "Servicing as a trooper wasn't just a job that I would just go to earn a paycheck. It's just like the military. Something I lived by."
Torres attorneys went over documents on Tuesday which aimed to prove that Torres would've earned about $1,266,119.19 if he kept his role as a state trooper from the time he resigned in 2012 to the present date. The amount considers an accumulation of salaries, benefits and anticipated promotions.
During Tuesday's opening statements, the attorneys for the state argued against Torres claims, saying they were not true.
"Evidence will show DPS is a military friendly organization," the DPS representative said. "Evidence will show he was treated with respect and there were reasonable efforts to accommodate his disability."
The attorney also mentioned DPS policies and programs which helps veterans and active-duty members.
The legal representative also noted an award from the Department of Defense, which recognizes organizations nominated for military support. The representative said Torres nominated DPS to become recipients of the honor.
The multi-day trial is expected to resume through the end of September. After all witnesses testify and the cross-examination, closing arguments can be made and the jury can make their deliberation and verdict for this civil case.
This is a developing story, check back in with KRIS 6 news for more information.
