Under most circumstances, the employer must re-employ the employee. When the employee’s service is over, they must provide notice of intent to return to their employer. Military leaves of absence may be almost any length, with a maximum cumulative leave of five years. weekend type training), active duty training (the typical two-week summer camp training), and actual military service (active duty). basic training), inactive duty training (e.g. Military service includes: initial duty for training (e.g. Virtually anyone who has been absent from work due to “service in the uniformed services” is protected by these laws. The Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act, enacted by Congress in 2004, requires all employers to provide a notice of rights under USERRA to all persons entitled to military leave of absence rights and benefits. When employees serve in the military during their employment, the company is required to either hold their jobs open or re-employ them in similar positions when they return from their military duties. In the United States, Leaves of Absence policies relate to Pregnancy Disability Leave, Family Medical Leave, Disability Leave, Sick Leave, Jury Duty Leave, Workers’ Compensation Leave, State Disability Leave, and Military Leaves of Absence. Most importantly, the authors will offer practical, viable options to the employer in order to maximize the utilization of the citizen soldier and to ensure USERRA compliance. The authors will provide an overview of the Department of Labor’s Final Regulations interpreting USERRA, which can be accessed directly at. This article will discuss the re-employment rights of the returning veteran as well as the concomitant requirements of the employer. This is particularly the case with smaller to mid-size business organizations. Įmployers usually try to treat returning veterans fairly but lack clear guidance from state and federal governments regarding USERRA requirements. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that approximately one in five veterans discharged from active duty between 20 had significant military service-connected disabilities. This is the largest deployment of “citizen soldiers” since World War II. Since September 11, 2001, more than 390,000 members of the National Guard and Reserve have already been released from active duty. There are over 2.6 million people in the U.S. The magnitude of this issue is clearly reflected in the U.S. military forces actively serving in the region. Currently those forces comprise more than 35 percent of all U.S. If you are wondering if these challenges will present themselves to your business organization, consider what the Pentagon has reported: As of August 2005 more than 141,000 members of the United States National Guard and Reserve military forces have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Unlike some other federal laws that apply only if the employer has a certain number of employees, USERRA applies to all employers. While there are benefits in having a citizen soldier as an employee, employers must be prepared to address these difficult questions along with several others that flow from the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). For example, what obligations, if any, does an employer have to re-employ a veteran in the position they held prior to being called to active duty? What if doing so displaces another employee or results in hardship for the employer? This article is intended to bring to the attention of employers the legal obligations they have to employees who have been called to active military duty or who are members of the United States National Guard or Reserves.
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