Userra

Helping Military Service Members Successfully Transition Back to Civilian Careers

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) was created to protect reemployment rights for service members returning from deployment. This Act applies to those called to duty from the Reserves or the National Guard. Under the USERRA, employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees based on their military service or obligation.

The USERRA clarifies and strengthens veterans’ provisions covered under the Veterans’ Reemployment Rights (VRR) Statute. Under the USERRA, civilians’ job rights and benefits for veterans and members of Reserve components are protected. The USERRA also provides specific protections for disabled veterans, requiring employers to reasonably accommodate their disabilities.

However, not all employers adhere to the USERRA and make the accommodations required for employees who have performed military service. When federal or private employers refuse to comply with federal law that prevents this type of employment discrimination, eligible service members may file a USERRA claim to recover compensation for lost wages and other benefits, along with their incurred legal fees.

Riggan Law Firm has a proven record of helping returning service members with USERRA claims and would be honored to provide you with quality legal representation. Please contact our Missouri law office today to meet with a USERRA attorney who will professionally evaluate your case and determine your available legal options.

How Does USERRA Protect Civilian Job Rights and Benefits for Service Members?

The USERRA made sweeping improvements in protecting service member rights and employment benefits, improving the available enforcement mechanisms, and adding federal government employees to the pool of employees who were already eligible to receive assistance from the Department of Labor in processing claims.

USERRA has provisions stipulating that employers must promptly reemploy returning service members to the same civilian jobs they enjoyed before leaving for their military service. Other guidelines also dictate that the returning service member be reinstated to the same status, pay, seniority, and other benefits they enjoyed before performing their military duty.

Under the USERRA, the cumulative length of time an employee can be absent from work for military duty and retain reemployment benefits has been extended from 4 years to 5 years.

Note that there are exceptions to the 5-year limit, which include:

• Initial enlistments that last longer than 5 years
• Period training for the National Guard and Reserve
• Involuntary active duty extensions and recalls, particularly those during a time of emergency

If you have recently returned from active duty service but your civilian employer does not want to honor your employment rights, contact Riggan Law Firm immediately so that we may assess your legal needs.

What Employment Protections Does USERRA Offer to Military Service Members?

USERRA offers employment protections to military members serving in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, National Guard, and reserves.

The main objective of the USERRA is to offer numerous protections for absent employees who have been performing uniformed services, such as requiring that returning service members be reemployed in the same job, they would have attained had they not left for military service.

Additionally, under the long-standing “escalator” principle, such employees have the right to return with the same seniority, status, pay, and other benefits afforded by their seniority. The USERRA also requires that employers make reasonable efforts to train or retrain returning service members to refresh their skills or bring them up to date.

Aside from reemployment by previous civilian employers, some of the other basic protections offered by USERRA include:

• Anti-discrimination: Civilian employers may not discriminate against any past, present, or future military service member, including their employment and reemployment rights.
• Health benefits: USERRA grants service members the right to continue with their employment-based healthcare benefits for up to 24 months after completing more than 30 days of military duty.
• Pension protections: The USERRA also protects employee pension benefits for employees who are absent from work performing their military duty

If you have questions about the law and what employment privileges you hold as a former service member, or if you feel those rights have been violated upon returning from service, contact an employment lawyer at Riggan Law Firm, LLC. Our highly trained legal team can assess the facts of your situation and build a solid case to protect your rights, and the reemployment benefits you deserve.

What are the Eligibility Requirements Needed to Qualify for USERRA?

Although USERRA is generally available to most service members, five eligibility requirements must be met to qualify for USERRA, which include:

• The employee must have been absent from their civilian job due to military service
• The employee must have given their employer advance written or verbal notice that they would be absent from work due to their service in the armed forces. However, this rule may sometimes be waived if the employee must leave quickly due to a national emergency or military necessity
• The overall time the employee spends gone from their employer due to military duty must not exceed 5 years
• The employee must report back to their civilian job promptly or submit an application for reemployment in a timely manner unless external conditions make doing so impossible
• The employee must not have been released from their military service under dishonorable discharge

If you are a service member who needs more information about how the USERRA applies to your situation or have not been treated fairly in your civilian employment due to your military service, contact our Missouri law office to schedule an initial consultation to learn more about how we may be able to help.

How Do I File a USERRA Complaint?

If you have experienced an adverse employment action due to past, present, or future military service, you can file a USERRA complaint.

Although federal laws have been established to offer employment protections for military personnel returning to civilian jobs, many individuals find that employers are unfamiliar with the rules or do not wish to abide by them.

USERRA protects the employment rights of military personnel who must leave civilian jobs to fulfill uniformed service obligations. State and federal employees are entitled to USERRA employment considerations as long as they meet all eligibility requirements.

Military personnel who have experienced employment discrimination may file a USERRA complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) by downloading and mailing the VETS-1010 form or using the VETS Form e1010 online.

However, anyone considering filing a complaint should always obtain skilled legal representation from a uniformed service discrimination lawyer familiar with the legal complexities of USERRA laws.

Some of the most significant advantages of hiring a USERRA lawyer include:

• Assist you in filling out and filing the paperwork in full and promptly
• Provide quality legal representation to ensure that your employer is compliant with USERRA laws
• A USERRA lawyer will act as your legal representative and take legal action against your employer if necessary
• Having skilled legal representation increases your chances of recovering compensation for your employer’s non-compliant actions

What Makes Your USERRA Lawyers the Right Choice to Handle Me Legal Needs?

The USERRA affords numerous rights and protections to service members absent from work to fulfill their military duties. No one who honorably serves in the United States military should have to return to civilian life and fight for their employment rights.

Riggan Law Firm of Missouri is dedicated to helping individuals who have fulfilled their military obligations be treated fairly by their employers. Our highly trained USERRA lawyers will fight to ensure you are not treated differently and enjoy the same employment benefits as others who work for your civilian employer.

If we agree to take your case, we will thoroughly investigate your employer’s actions. If we win your case, we may be able to help you recover compensation such as lost wages, benefits, and liquidated damages that your employer may be forced to pay for willful violations of the USERRA law.

If an employer treated you differently or unfairly because you were absent due to your military service, contact the Riggan Law Firm of Missouri at 314-528-9661 and ask to schedule a meeting so that we may discuss your case.