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Uniformed Services Employment ind pi'*iiP Rights Act
Commander Samuel F. Wright, JAGC, USNR
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article examines the new reemployment
rights law for uniformed services personnel. As a result of space
restrictions, it will appear in two segments. This first segment
considers eligibility criteria. The second segment, which will
appear in the next LAMPlighter issue, covers entitlements.
On October 13, 1994, President Clinton signed into law the
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights
Act (USERRA), Public Law 103-353, 108 Stat. 3149. USERRA
is a complete rewrite of and replacement for the Veterans' Re-
employment Rights (VRR) law. Most of USERRA will be
codified at 38 U.S.C. 4301-4333. This new law became fully
effective on December 12, 1994.
Eligibility and Applicability
Like the VRR law, USERRA's basic intention is to give those
who leave their civilian jobs for service in the uniformed ser-
vices a legal basis to return, with accrued seniority, to their
civilian jobs. Protection under USERRA, however, is subject
to five eligibility requirements (each criterion is discussed sepa-
rately in some detail below):
0 you must have held a civilian job (discrimination in hiring
is prohibited and is discussed in the second segment of this
article);
0 you must have given notice to the employer that you were
leaving the job for service in the uniformed services;
* the period of service must not have exceeded five years;
you must have been released from service under honor-
able conditions;
* you must have reported back to the civilian job in a timely
manner or have submitted a timely application for reemploy-
ment.
Assuming that a person meets these eligibility requirements,
USERRA will apply:
0 to voluntary as well as involuntary service; [Section
4303(13)]
in peacetime and wartime; and
* to virtually all civilian employers, including the federal
government, state and local governments, and private employ-
ers, regardless of size. [Section 4303(4)]
USERRA rights apply to those engaged in the uniformed
services. These services include theArmy, Navy, Marine Corps,
Air Force, Coast Guard, and Public Health Service commis-
sioned corps as well as the reserve components of each of these
services. [Section 4303(16)]
In addition, federal training or service in the Army National
Guard and Air National Guard gives rise to rights under
USERRA. However, the law does not protect state service, pur-
(continued on page 5)
The LAMPlighter Says ............................................... 2
Legal Assistance Survey ............................................ 3
Ask the Tax Lady! ..................................................... 4
Meritorious Service Medal Award ............................. 5
Chair's Column .......................................................... 7](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/lmplgt6&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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