leave
for military service
United States military personnel are deployed in
nearly 130 countries around the world. Servicemen
and -women perform a variety of duties around the
globe, from combat operations to peacekeeping to
training with foreign militaries. Many Americans
serving in the military have had to take leave from
civilian jobs; thanks to federal law, however, those
jobs are protected.
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) provides
valuable rights for all employees who perform military service. The uniformed
services include the full-time and reserve components of the Army, Navy, Marine
Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and National Guard and the commissioned corps
of the Public Health Service. USERRA applies to voluntary as well as involuntary
service, in peacetime and in wartime. The law applies to virtually all civilian
employers, including the federal government, state and local governments, and
private employers, regardless of size.
The act prohibits employment discrimination because of an employee’s or
applicant’s past, current, or future military obligations. It requires
employers to grant an unpaid leave of absence of up to five years to any employee
serving in the uniformed services. It entitles employees to reinstatement to
their former positions, with the same rights and benefits they had on the date
they began uniformed service. This includes seniority-based rights and benefits
they would have attained had they remained continuously employed, such as status,
rate of pay, pension vesting, and credit for pension benefits. While in uniformed
service, employees are to be treated as if on leave of absence and are entitled
to any non-seniority-based benefits that are available generally to employees
on leave of absence. For example, USERRA gives an employee the right to continue
health insurance coverage during periods of military service. The employee may
be required to pay for the health insurance.
In order to be reinstated to a civilian job following
a period of service in the uniformed services,
a military member must:
- Have informed the employer
that he or she was leaving the job for service
in the uniformed services
- Not have served more than
five years
- Have been released from service under “honorable
conditions”
- Have reported back to the civilian
employer in a timely manner or have submitted a
timely application for reemployment.
USERRA also provides certain employees with special
protection against firing. It provides that a person
who is re employed cannot be fired except for cause
within one year after reemployment, as long as the
employee’s period of
military service was more than 180 days. An employee
whose period of military service was more than thirty
but less than 181 days may not be fired except for
cause within 180 days after reemployment.
The Office of Veterans’ Employment and Training
Service (VETS) of the Department of Labor has the
responsibility for investigating complaints under
USERRA. Individuals may also file lawsuits in federal
court to enforce their rights. If you think your
rights under USERRA have been abridged, talk to your
lawyer to find out what steps you need to take.
 Back
to Articles Main Page
|
