State Reemployment Rights and Laws for Service Members

A recent US Government Report from the Government Accounting Office has this to say about Reemployment Rights (Federal). GAO 06-60

•  The survey respondents who met these criteria were first asked if, despite their USERRA protection, they had experienced any of a series of USERRA problems. The survey projections show that between 4 and 8 percent of the 119,761 Selected Reserve members who met the criteria above did not receive prompt reemployment upon their return from military service; between 9 and 14 percent experienced a loss of seniority, seniority-related pay, or seniority-related benefits; and between 5 and 9 percent did not receive immediate reinstatement of employer-provided health insurance. Page 26 of this report.

• The survey respondents who experienced one or more problems were then asked if they had sought assistance for their problems. Survey results show that only between 18 and 28 percent of the 42,119 Selected Reserve members who had USERRA problems sought assistance for the problems. Therefore, at least 72 percent of the Selected Reserve members who had experienced USERRA problems never filed a complaint, either formal or informal, to seek assistance in resolving their problems. Page 27 of this report.

• On March 21, 2003, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness signed a memorandum mandating the collection of employer information. The memorandum directed the military departments to immediately implement a civilian employment information program for National Guard and Reserve members subject to involuntary recall to active duty. This memorandum required that all members of the reserve components provide employment-related information upon assignment to the Ready Reserve and at other times determined by their respective military departments. Page 29 of this report.

• However, a working group from the American Bar Association found that many private attorneys are reluctant to take USERRA complaints because cases are not likely to result in large judgments or settlements. Page 9 of this report.

• DOJ’s Civil Rights Division attorneys are trained in handling discrimination complaints because they receive training on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition, according to DOJ officials, 37 attorneys in the Employment Litigation Section received training on USERRA in March 2005 and also received a collection of reference documents relevant to USERRA. These attorneys are available to handle both civil rights and USERRA complaints. There are also 18 professional and 8 clerical staff who are trained on USERRA matters. Page 15 of this report.

• To highlight the difference between agency focuses on processing times and servicemember concerns with elapsed times, we reviewed complaints that had been closed and later reopened by VETS investigators. Specifically, we analyzed 52 complaints that were closed and reopened two or more times. Our analysis revealed substantial differences between the recorded processing times and the actual elapsed times for these complaints. The recorded processing times averaged 103 days. However, from the servicemembers’ perspectives, it took much longer because the servicemembers actually waited an average of 619 days from the time they first filed their initial formal complaints with DOL until the time the complaints were fully addressed by DOL, DOJ, or OSC. Page 6 of this report.