The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) was designed to prevent hiring discrimination and bolster job protection for members of the armed forces, including those of the Reserve Components (RCs).¹ Under USERRA, it is against the law for an employer to refuse to hire a reservist, guardsman, veteran, or someone applying to enter the military services on the basis of the applicant’s military service affiliation. Moreover, service members are guaranteed reemployment by their former employers after periods of military duty. Since 1994, this landmark employment rights legislation has provided assurance to men and women weighing the decision to...

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) was designed to prevent hiring discrimination and bolster job protection for members of the armed forces, including those of the Reserve Components (RCs). Under USERRA, it is against the law for an employer to refuse, on the basis of military status, to hire a veteran, an RC member, or someone in the process of enlisting. Moreover, after a period of military service, service members are guaranteed reemployment by their civilian employers when their duty is over. USERRA’s reemployment protections are particularly relevant for RC members because their participation in the military...

This chapter provides a brief overview and summary of USERRA as enacted and amended by Congress, as of January 2012. USERRA was signed into law on October 12, 1994, and since then has been revised multiple times (1996, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2011). Here, we highlight key provisions of the law as of January 2012.

USERRA combines aspects of antidiscrimination law with special reemployment rights for members of the armed forces and other selected beneficiaries. USERRA covers those who serve in or have served in the uniformed services, and it applies to all employers in the public and private sectors,...

As described in the previous chapter, USERRA conveys specific employment and reemployment rights and benefits on veterans and members of the RCs. When an RC member is activated, the employer loses an employee and is thus affected. Those effects could be harmful or beneficial to the employer. Although it is common to describe those impacts as “effects of USERRA,” many employers voluntarily provide benefits to activated RC members that exceed those required by the law. As such, we describe these impacts as the effects of duty-related absences in the context of USERRA. In this chapter, we provide a conceptual framework...

USERRA provides reemployment rights to individuals who are absent from their civilian employers because of military duty. As noted in Chapter Two, when passing USERRA, Congress anticipated that the reemployment provisions could impose costs on employers, but it deemed those to be acceptable in view of the benefits of the law.

As discussed in the previous chapter, there is empirical evidence or a theoretical basis to believe that characteristics of the absence, the employer, and the RC member or the position he or she holds influence the cost of a duty-related absence. In this chapter, we explore whether there is...

The mission of ESGR is to facilitate and promote

a cooperative culture of employer support for National Guard and Reserve service by developing and advocating mutually beneficial initiatives; recognizing outstanding employer support; increasing awareness of applicable laws and policies; resolving potential conflicts between employers and their service members; and acting as the employers’ principal advocate within DoD. (ESGR, undated [d])

In this chapter, we describe employers’ awareness of their responsibilities under USERRA and perceptions of ESGR. We also describe employer suggestions for improving USERRA assistance and support for Guard and Reserve service.

Although RC members are required to provide DoD...

USERRA provides two basic types of rights to service members: protection from employment discrimination based on military service, and an entitlement to reemployment after an absence due to military service, provided that certain conditions articulated in the law are met. The law reflects a strong congressional commitment to support employment for service members, recognizing full well that such protections could impose costs on employers. In according these protections, the law explicitly covers not just involuntary but also voluntary duty. In passing USERRA, Congress considered whether to exempt small employers from the legislation and decided not to. However, the law does...