labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Employers may not be as conversant with the USERRA regulations as they thought. In particular they may not realize that there are exceptions to the five year limit on civilian job protection.

With the recent release of the final USERRA regulations by the Dept. of Labor, this is a good time to replace your Oregon USERRA poster to make sure that it is displaying correct and up to date information.

The regulations state that an employer covered by USERRA is entitled to have their civilian job held open for them for up to a five year period. However, there are exceptions to this regulation. If a soldiers’ initial enlistment lasts for five years or over, they may still be entitled to have their civilian job protected. USERRA regulations now state specifically that duration, nature, timing and frequency of a person’s individual service are not relevant. What is relevant is that the basic criteria for eligibility are met.

The regulations cover people who serve in the National Guard or Reserve. Included are people who are members of the Army, Air Force or Navy reserve and veterans. They are entitled to job protection under the Uniformed Services Employment and reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

Workers who serve with the military are still entoleted to the five year job protection regulations. These state that if called away on military service, an employee is entitled to have his or her civilian job held open for them for up to five years. Additionally, they may also be entitled to benefits and salary increases that they would have received if they had remained in their job for the same period of time.

If you are making a claim under USERRA, then the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, affectionately known as VETS, is able to provide assistance in making your claim. This is a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, and now, federal government employees have been added to the list of those who can receive this assistance.

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