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Honoring Veterans: Employment Protections for Current and Former Military Personnel
Practical Law Legal Update w-004-5012 (Approx. 6 pages)
Honoring Veterans: Employment Protections for Current and Former Military Personnel
by Practical Law Labor and Employment
| Published on 10 Nov 2016 • USA (National/Federal) |
In honor of Veterans Day, this Legal Update highlights Practical Law resources that help employers understand and comply with federal and state employment laws that protect veterans and active military service personnel and their families and caregivers.
Veterans returning from service and reentering the civilian workforce and active military service members balancing the demands of their civilian positions and their active duty obligations often encounter obstacles in the workplace. Recognizing these challenges, the federal government and a number of states have enacted employment laws designed to protect and improve workplace opportunities for veterans and active military personnel.
Federal Employment Law: Veterans and Active Military Personnel
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) provides reemployment rights for employees returning from uniformed service when specific criteria are satisfied (including, for example, that the employee provided his employer with advance notice of his service). In particular, USERRA requires that, absent an employer's undue hardship, employees returning from military leave be:
- Promptly reemployed in an appropriate position.
- Reinstated with all rights and benefits that the employee would have earned without a break in employment.
- Provided training or retraining as needed to integrate into the new position.
USERRA also:
- Requires employers to continue to provide health benefits during the first 24 months of military leave.
- Prohibits employment discrimination and harassment on the basis of past, present, or prospective military service.
Additionally, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires, in part, that covered employers provide eligible employees with unpaid, job-protected leave for family or medical reasons, including:
- To care for certain family members who are qualifying covered service members with a serious injury or illness.
- For a qualifying exigency due to the employee's spouse, child, or parent being a military member on covered active duty or their call to covered active duty status.
The Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) imposes a broad range of obligations on federal contractors and subcontractors to promote the employment of veterans. In particular, the VEVRAA:
- Prohibits covered federal government contractors and subcontractors from discriminating against statutorily protected categories of veterans, who are:
- special disabled veterans;
- recently separated veterans;
- veterans of the Vietnam era; or
- armed forces service medal veterans.
- Requires covered federal government contractors and subcontractors to:
- take affirmative action to employ and advance veterans in employment;
- maintain certain employment records about covered veterans, including job listings, applications, and employee files relevant to the recruitment, hiring, and employment actions (see US DOL: VETS-4212 Federal Contractor Reporting);
- list job openings with particular employment agencies that give priority to covered veterans when referring job seekers to the openings; and
- submit annual reports on the number of current employees who are covered veterans.
State Employment Law: Veterans and Active Military Personnel
A number of states also prohibit discrimination against veterans and impose military leave requirements for service members and their families. Employers should be familiar with applicable state law and monitor state and local developments in this area (see, for example, Legal Update, Jackson Lewis: Wyoming Governor Signs Veteran Preference Law).
For more information on state anti-discrimination protections for veterans and military personnel, see Anti-Discrimination Laws: State Q&A Tool. For more information on state military leave requirements, see Leave Laws: State Q&A Tool and Leave Policy Language: State Q&A Tool.
Resources for Employers
Practical Law offers a variety of resources to help employers comply with workplace obligations to veterans and active military service members, including best practices and model policy language. For more information and links to these resources, see Practical Law's Employment Laws Concerning Veterans Toolkit.