Did you know that deployed reserve and National Guard soldiers are entitled to get their jobs back after they return from military service? And that they are entitled to the benefits and seniority they would have received had they not deployed to serve our country?

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act was signed into law on October 13, 1994. USERRA is designed to minimize the disadvantages our deployed reserve and National Guard soldiers face when they need to be absent from their civilian employers to serve in the armed forces.

USERRA provides that returning service-members are reemployed in the job that they would have attained had they not been absent for military service—and with the same seniority, status, and pay they would have gained but for their deployment.  It also requires that the employer make reasonable efforts (such as training or retraining) to enable returning service members to refresh or upgrade their skills to help them qualify for reemployment.  Employees have to either report back to work or apply for re-employment within certain time frames—for example, if the service was between one and six months, the employee must report back to work or submit an application for reemployment within 14 days of their release from service.

For more information, visit the Department of Labor’s website.