I think, as per the Kiwi case, the company needs to realize they operate outside of the bubble of Hong Kong. Even if not formally 'onshored' (whatever that means) several developed nations have legislation which effectively onshores them if certain conditions are met (i.e. they employ a national from the nation they operate into, they station individuals via basings who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the nations they base into, or sometimes even if they simply do trade with the country they wish to fly into).
Think of the money we'd save if we'd simply do the right thing and follow the law vice trying to assert that we can do whatever we want to do anywhere under the laws of Hong Kong.
It's kind of like someone driving really really fast in the US and claiming to the trooper that they are from a nation without a speed limit so should be able to drive as fast as they want. Doubt one would get very far with this approach.
The question here will be does the USERRA apply to foreign corporations which operate into as well as base its pilots in the US (if it follows other US legislation it probably does). From a glance of the text of it, USERRA appears to apply to foreign corporations doing business within the United States--any entity with any form of physical presence in the US which Cathay (or the respective holding company) certainly has. If it does apply, it would be advisable for the company to try to settle quickly; the US DOJ is also charged with enforcing the legislation so it might not be as simple as a civil suit if the USERRA was broken. Folks screwing around with the military and vets in the US are not well thought of.
While some tax and labor laws don't apply to foreign corporations, others very much do (depending on the nation). Getting good legal advice about this isn't particularly hard or expensive, but does sometimes result in an answer someone doesn't want to hear. One ignores this advice at one's own peril.
The STRANGE wrinkle in THIS case is I think this might have been the guy who was wearing his uniform through security after being terminated and getting in trouble with the Feds about it. So to be honest I'm not sure what to make of it.
Last edited by Shep69; 19th Mar 2015 at 17:54.