As a reservist or guard member, have you ever wondered what will happen to your civilian job if your Reserve or Guard unit is called into Active Duty? When you return to the civilian world, will you have to search for a new job? What can you do to ensure you will be able to work again? The following is a summary of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (updated in 1996 and 1998).
Fortunately, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) provides reemployment protection and other benefits for veterans and employees who perform military service. Under USERRA, if a military member leaves his civilian job for service in the military, that military member is entitled to return to their job, with accrued seniority, provided the member meets the law’s eligibility criteria. USERRA applies to voluntary as well as involuntary service and in peacetime as well as wartime. Further, the law applies to virtually all civilian employers, including the Federal Government, State and local governments, and private employers regardless of size.
Reemployment Rights extend to persons who have been absent from a position of employment because of “service in the uniformed services.” “Service in the uniformed services” is defined as the performance of duty on a voluntary or involuntary basis in a uniformed service and includes the following: active duty (including Reserve and Guard members who have been called up); Active duty for training; Initial active duty for training; Inactive duty training; Full-time National Guard duty and other situations.
In order to have reemployment rights following a period of service in the uniformed services, a military member must meet five eligibility criteria to include: 1) you must have held a civilian job; 2) you must have informed your employer you were leaving the job for service in the uniformed services; 3) the period of service must not have exceeded five years (although certain exceptions may extend this period); 4) you must have been released from service under “honorable conditions”; and 5) you must have reported back to your civilian employer in a timely manner or have submitted a timely application for reemployment.
If you need assistance in this area of the law or have any questions, or if you have any other legal issues you can always contact my law office by e-mail at info@mitchellhowie.com or by phone at 256-533-8074. For more information please see my website at www.mitchellhowie.com.
