The United States Army Connection: Genesis of a USERRA, Act Two

Director-Missouri
U.S. Department of Labor / VETS
421 East Dunklin Street / P.O. Box 59
Jefferson City, MO 65104-0059
Office: (573) 751-3917
Cell: (202) 281-5312
Fax: (573) 751-6710
benzel.william@dol.gov

Mr. Benzel:

Good morning.

I am writing, once again, humbly requesting that you do not dismiss my USERRA case (MO-2011-00025-10-R and ESGR case file number 1125287), without doing some basic investigative work and at least talking to some witnesses.

I find it quite disconcerting how you went from being initially reassuring and hope-inspiring to demanding that I need to "prove my case" and provide a "prima facie" before you can begin any form of investigation, about 5 days later. You also indicated that my case might have "expired" due to a "latch principle" that requires one to act within a certain period of time after an initial discriminatory act.

Furthermore, the manner in which our conversation ended, was spirit-shattering and left me drained of energy, hope, and inspiration. It almost appears that I would not obtain justice or any measure of reprieve from the ongoing military discrimination I'm facing. At our conversation's end, you were blunt and forceful, demanding that I send an email to you requesting that the case be closed or that you will "dismiss it for lack of merit."

Sir, you were my last hope of getting someone to look into this issue. I had canvassed all over for help but it appears no one is interested. I contacted my reserve unit but they politely indicated they cannot offer legal assistance; I reached out to the Judge Advocate General of the US Army and they informed me that they only help active troops and referred me to ESGR, who initially offered some rays of hope and sprung to action.

Unfortunately, ESGR was rudely brushed off and given no audience by both Washington University in Saint Louis (Wash U) and Barnes-Jewish Hospital (BJH.) Per the ESGR contact person, the documents that I had provided to him clearly demonstrated discriminative actions on the part of Wash U and BJH; he advised promptly contacting DOL, hence my opening this case.

I had provided you with the same information, which you initially noted as indicative of some discriminatory practices based on my military affiliation, and you outlined some initial steps you will take to minimize the effects of the discriminatory practices on my person. Sir, to say the least, you were a breath of fresh air and a long-sought relief to a weary soul, that day. However, within the space of a few days, everything evaporated! You didn't even make the initial trip to Saint Louis as you had initially stated.

Sir, currently, I am at my wits end. I have been staying "Army Strong" for over 5 months while battling intense overt and covert discriminative actions by Drs Faber and Harbit (both of Wash U Psychiatry Department) and BJH, due to my military affiliation. I should point out that all throughout this period I still provided full psychiatric care for my patients; and I do not want to be denied the right to faithfully and effectively serve as a board-eligible psychiatrist in the United States Army Medical Corp.

However, Sir, I am only human and I'm tired and weary. I am still trying to find someone to at least look into this issue but I'm fast losing hope.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank You.

Sincerely,

Alade, Oladimeji D.O, MS