labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Now is the time to replace your old Wisconsin USERRA poster to ensure that you are displaying up to date and correct information to your employees. There have been some changes and clarifications to the USERRA regulations, with the addition of federal government employees to the list of those able to receive assistance with processing their claims.

The organization responsible for providing assistance to those who claim under the USERRA regulation is the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), which is a division of the U.S. Department of Labor. The final USERRA regulations have recently been released by the Dept. of Labor and it is recommended that all parties affected by them make themselves aware of any changes.

An area that is covered quite extensively is the regulations that refer to the time away from an employee’s civilian job. The regulations state that under the law, if a person is covered by USERRA, they are entitled to return to their civilian job for up to five years, depending upon length of service.

The regulations cover employment rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994. Under the regulations a person who serves in the military is entitled to job protection. Those covered by the regulations are veterans, members of the National Guard and Reserve as well as members of the Navy, Army or Air Force reserves.

After recent test cases, some returning members may be entitled to the same employment benefits relating to their job if they had not been away. This can include cost of living pay rises, annual salary increases and promotions that they person would have gained due to time served in the company.

The five year regulation is cumulative, so an employee can be away for a period of, for example, three years, and then two years, and still be entitled to job protection. Training stints with the National Guard or Reserves are not counted towards the five year period.

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