Military Leave / USERRA

Does USERRA require preferential treatment for veterans?

04/24/2012

For years, employers have struggled with how to re-employ soldiers whose military duties have required them to be absent from work. The key question: Does the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) make it mandatory to give rehiring preference to returning vets? Finally, courts have begun to bring clarity to the law.

USERRA doesn’t require veteran’s preference

04/12/2012

USERRA is not a veteran’s preference law. It merely guarantees that service members can return to work no better or worse off than if they never left.

Employ veterans? Understand interplay with the ADA

04/04/2012

Do veterans returning from war with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) qualify as “disabled” under the ADA and, thus, are due accommodations? Questions like that are answered in a new EEOC guidance document.

Cover USERRA, New York law by drafting unequivocal severance releases

04/03/2012

Don’t worry that releases you ask employees to sign in exchange for severance pay aren’t broad enough to cover claims under USERRA or the New York Military Law. As long as the release is clear and unequivocal about what’s being waived, it doesn’t have to specifically reference the laws.

Report shows Uncle Sam is biggest USERRA violator

03/09/2012

It’s do as we say, not as we do when it comes to complying with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). A Washington Post investigation found that federal government agencies account for 18% of all USERRA complaints filed by returning service members.

How did the new law change USERRA?

02/15/2012

Q. How does the recent amendment to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) affect employers?

Warn bosses: No disparaging military service

02/03/2012

If a member of the National Guard or reserves is terminated, he or she can use the statement to show that military service was a motivating factor in that termination. That’s all that’s required under USERRA.

The ‘surge home’: Welcome service members back to work

01/31/2012

U.S. combat operations in Iraq ended in December, and the Department of Defense is gradually drawing down forces in Afghanistan. As you rehire employees returning from military service, make sure you follow USERRA guidelines. How to comply:

DOL: It’s time to formalize FMLA military family leave

01/31/2012

The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed new FMLA rules that would formalize several statutory amendments that expanded military family-leave rights in 2008 and 2009. The new rules would officially incorporate into the FMLA amendments that were tacked onto the National Defense Authorization Act. If you’re covered by the FMLA, these rules will apply to you.

Must we rehire returning service members? We have already hired replacement workers

01/12/2012

Q. We have a number of employees who serve in the armed forces. Some have taken multiple leaves in recent years because they were called up for duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. At least one has been gone for years. With the drawdown of troops in Iraq, we expect that several will want to return to our company, but we have had to hire people to replace them. Are we obligated to rehire them even if we don’t have an open position?