A federal appeals court reversed a lower court decision and ruled in favor of a railroad in litigation filed by a former employee who had charged it with violating the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act when he returned to work from a deployment.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based Union Pacific Railroad Co. hired Rodolfo A. Quiles as general manager of safety analysis in February 2014, paying him as a “D-band” employee, based on a  scale of A through E, with E the highest, according to Tuesday’s ruling by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis in Rodolfo A. Quiles v. Union Pacific Railroad Co, Inc. et al.

Mr. Quiles left his job for voluntary deployment with the Marine Corps in May 2015. During his deployment, Union Pacific underwent a reduction in force, and another employee was hired to serve as general director of safety analysis, whom Mr. Quiles believed was intended to be his replacement.

Upon his return Mr. Quiles was given a new title of director of safety analysis and, while his compensation remained the same, reported to the general director, who was also a “D-band” employee rather than an “E-band” employee, to whom he had previously reported.

When Mr. Quiles’ attempts to resolve dispute over this were unsuccessful, he became insubordinate and was terminated in March 2016, according to the ruling.

Mr. Quiles suit against the railroad in U.S. District Court in Omaha on charges including violating USERRA. Under the law, an employer must reemploy returning employees to a position reflecting their previous pay, benefits, seniority and other job, although not if the employer’s circumstances have changed or if it would present an undue hardship, according to the ruling.

Before the case was submitted to the jury, the district court granted Mr. Quiles’ motion for judgment as matter of law on his failure to reemploy claim, and denied Union Pacific’s motion on the issue.

The jury returned a verdict in Union Pacific’s favor on remaining outstanding claims, including that he was fired for cause, and did not award Mr. Quiles any damages.

The railroad appealed and a three-judge appeals court panel unanimously overturned the lower court’s USERRA ruling.

A “reasonable jury could find Union Pacific attempted to fit Quiles into an appropriate job within the corporation’s reorganized structure upon his return from deployment,” the ruling said, noting among other factors the railroad’s reorganization and the steps it took to protect his pay grade.

Attorneys in the case did not respond to requests for comment.