Employment Rights of the National Guard and Reserve

U.S. Department of Justice

United States Attorney

Eastern District of North Carolina

310 New Bern Avenue, Suite 800

Raleigh, North Carolina 27601

(919) 856-4530

EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF

THE NATIONAL GUARD &

RESERVE

Since the founding of our Republic, the citizen soldier has been ready

on-call to leave home and protect our nation. Although the United

States has the greatest standing military force in the world today, that

force cannot accomplish its mission of protecting liberty without the

support and augmentation of citizen soldiers, whether from the Army

or Air National Guard or from the Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force, or

Coast Guard Reserve. When citizen soldiers leave their families and

civilian employment to protect our liberty, we have an obligation to

them to protect their legal rights. This handbook summarizes and

explains in plain language the legal rights of citizen soldiers under three

federal statutes:

the Uniformed Services Employment and

Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the Soldiers¡¯ and Sailors¡¯ Civil

Relief Act (SSCRA), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

We hope citizen soldiers, their family members, and employers find this

handbook useful.

Frank D. Whitney

United States Attorney

Eastern District of North Carolina

Table of Contents

USERRA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Major sections of the law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Federal law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Applicability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Discrimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Eligibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Five-year limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Reemployment procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Reemployment position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Reemployment entitlements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Health Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Pensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Vacations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Assistance and enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

USERRA Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Protection of accrual rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Protection of contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Protection of company match contributions . . .

Protection of loan provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Protection of vesting rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

13

13

13

14

14

Making It Easier For Civilian Employers Of Those

Who Serve In The National-Guard And Reserve . . 16

USERRA FAQs for Employers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

A Smooth Transition For National Guard And

Reserve Members: Avoiding Job Conflicts . . . . . . 27

Talk to your boss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Federal Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

-i-

U.S. Department of Justice

United States Attorney

Eastern District of North Carolina

310 New Bern Avenue, Suite 800

Raleigh, North Carolina 27601

(919) 856-4530

EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF

THE NATIONAL GUARD &

RESERVE

Since the founding of our Republic, the citizen soldier has been ready

on-call to leave home and protect our nation. Although the United

States has the greatest standing military force in the world today, that

force cannot accomplish its mission of protecting liberty without the

support and augmentation of citizen soldiers, whether from the Army

or Air National Guard or from the Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force, or

Coast Guard Reserve. When citizen soldiers leave their families and

civilian employment to protect our liberty, we have an obligation to

them to protect their legal rights. This handbook summarizes and

explains in plain language the legal rights of citizen soldiers under three

federal statutes:

the Uniformed Services Employment and

Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the Soldiers¡¯ and Sailors¡¯ Civil

Relief Act (SSCRA), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

We hope citizen soldiers, their family members, and employers find this

handbook useful.

Frank D. Whitney

United States Attorney

Eastern District of North Carolina

Table of Contents

USERRA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Major sections of the law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Federal law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Applicability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Discrimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Eligibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Five-year limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Reemployment procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Reemployment position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Reemployment entitlements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Health Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Pensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Vacations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Assistance and enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

USERRA Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Protection of accrual rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Protection of contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Protection of company match contributions . . .

Protection of loan provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Protection of vesting rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

13

13

13

14

14

Making It Easier For Civilian Employers Of Those

Who Serve In The National-Guard And Reserve . . 16

USERRA FAQs for Employers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

A Smooth Transition For National Guard And

Reserve Members: Avoiding Job Conflicts . . . . . . 27

Talk to your boss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Federal Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

-i-

Drill Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Annual Training Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Extra training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Non-Training Active Duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Emergency / Contingency Duty . . . . . . . . .

Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vacation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vacation Accrual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Federal Employees Paid Military Leave . . .

National Guard and Reserve Members that

are Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reward the Boss for Supporting Your

Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

28

29

29

29

30

30

30

31

31

31

32

32

USERRA FAQS for Service Members . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Employment Rights And Benefits Of Federal

Civilian Employees Who Perform Active Military

Duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) . . .

Pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Military Leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Annual Leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Leave Without Pay (LWOP) . . . . . . . . . . . .

Lump-sum Leave Payments . . . . . . . . . . . .

Health Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Return to Active Federal Service . . . . . . . .

Life Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Return to Active Federal Service . . . . . . . .

Retirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Thrift Savings Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Return to Civilian Duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Appeal Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Documenting Personnel Actions . . . . . . . . .

44

44

44

45

46

46

47

47

48

49

50

51

51

52

53

55

55

-ii-

Veterans' Reemployment Rights (VRR)

Expiration of the Veterans Readjustment Appointment

Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Who is Covered? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Basic Provisions/ Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Assistance Available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Relation to State, Local and Other Federal

Laws. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Veterans¡¯ Readjustment Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Service Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Time Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Training Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Grade Level of Jobs That Can be Filled . . . . . . 62

Conditions of Employment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

How to Apply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

30% or More Disabled Veteran Program . . . . . . . . .

Who is Eligible? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Grade Level of Jobs That Can be Filled. . . . . .

Conditions of Employment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conditions of Qualifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

How to Apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

64

64

64

64

64

65

Soldiers' And Sailors' Civil Relief Act . . . . . . . . . . .

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Termination of Pre-Service Lease Agreements

Evictions From Leased Housing . . . . . . . . . . . .

6% Interest Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Court Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Installment Contracts and Auto Leases . . . . . .

Enforcement of Obligations, Liabilities, Taxes .

66

66

66

68

68

69

71

71

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) . . . . . . . . . . 72

What is the Family and Medical Leave Act? . . 72

What are the leave eligibility provisions of the

FMLA? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

-iii-

Drill Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Annual Training Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Extra training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Non-Training Active Duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Emergency / Contingency Duty . . . . . . . . .

Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vacation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vacation Accrual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Federal Employees Paid Military Leave . . .

National Guard and Reserve Members that

are Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reward the Boss for Supporting Your

Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

28

29

29

29

30

30

30

31

31

31

32

32

USERRA FAQS for Service Members . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Employment Rights And Benefits Of Federal

Civilian Employees Who Perform Active Military

Duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) . . .

Pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Military Leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Annual Leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Leave Without Pay (LWOP) . . . . . . . . . . . .

Lump-sum Leave Payments . . . . . . . . . . . .

Health Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Return to Active Federal Service . . . . . . . .

Life Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Return to Active Federal Service . . . . . . . .

Retirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Thrift Savings Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Return to Civilian Duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Appeal Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Documenting Personnel Actions . . . . . . . . .

44

44

44

45

46

46

47

47

48

49

50

51

51

52

53

55

55

-ii-

Veterans' Reemployment Rights (VRR)

Expiration of the Veterans Readjustment Appointment

Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Who is Covered? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Basic Provisions/ Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Assistance Available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Relation to State, Local and Other Federal

Laws. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Veterans¡¯ Readjustment Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Service Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Time Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Training Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Grade Level of Jobs That Can be Filled . . . . . . 62

Conditions of Employment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

How to Apply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

30% or More Disabled Veteran Program . . . . . . . . .

Who is Eligible? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Grade Level of Jobs That Can be Filled. . . . . .

Conditions of Employment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conditions of Qualifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

How to Apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

64

64

64

64

64

65

Soldiers' And Sailors' Civil Relief Act . . . . . . . . . . .

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Termination of Pre-Service Lease Agreements

Evictions From Leased Housing . . . . . . . . . . . .

6% Interest Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Court Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Installment Contracts and Auto Leases . . . . . .

Enforcement of Obligations, Liabilities, Taxes .

66

66

66

68

68

69

71

71

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) . . . . . . . . . . 72

What is the Family and Medical Leave Act? . . 72

What are the leave eligibility provisions of the

FMLA? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

-iii-

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