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Balancing Your Guard Reserve Career and Your Civilian Career The Facts

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Title: Balancing Your Guard Reserve Career and Your Civilian Career The Facts


1
Balancing Your Guard / Reserve Career and Your
Civilian Career The Facts
2
The Uniformed Services Employment And
Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
  • Enacted in October 1994 (and significantly
    updated in 1996 and 1998), USERRA provides
    reemployment protection and other benefits for
    veterans and employees who perform military
    service. Under USERRA, if a military member
    leaves his civilian job for service in the
    uniformed services, he is entitled to return to
    the job, with accrued seniority, provided he meet
    the law's eligibility criteria.
  • Applies to voluntary as well as involuntary
    service, in peacetime as well as wartime, and
    applies to virtually all civilian employers,
    including the Federal Government, State and local
    governments, and private employers, regardless of
    size.

3
What kind of military duty is applicable?
  • Service in the uniformed services" means the
    performance of duty on a voluntary or involuntary
    basis in a uniformed service, including
  • Active duty (Including Reserve and Guard members
    who have been called up)
  • Active duty for training
  • Initial active duty for training
  • Inactive duty training
  • Full-time National Guard duty
  • Absence from work for an examination to determine
    a person's fitness for any of the above types of
    duty
  • Funeral honors duty performed by National Guard
    or Reserve members

4
Eligibility for USERRA Protection
  • In order to have reemployment rights following a
    period of service in the uniformed services, a
    military member must meet five eligibility
    criteria (discussed separately below)
  • You must have held a civilian job before being
    activated.
  • You must have informed your employer that you
    were leaving the job for service in the uniformed
    services.
  • The period of military service must not exceed
    five years.
  • You must have been released from service under
    "honorable conditions."
  • You must report back to your civilian employer in
    a timely manner or have submitted a timely
    application for reemployment.

5
What about my civilian health care plan?
  • USERRA provides protection for any individual or
    family member with coverage under a health plan
    in connection with the servicemember's civilian
    job, including a group health plan (as defined in
    the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
    1974), and the servicemember is absent from their
    civilian job by reason of service in the
    uniformed services.
  • The servicemember may elect to continue their
    civilian health care coverage. The maximum period
    of coverage under such an election shall be the
    lesser of
  • The 24-month period beginning on the date on
    which the person's absence begins or
  • The day after the date on which the person fails
    to apply for or return to a position of
    employment.

6
If I decide to keep my plan
  • A service member who elects to continue
    health-plan coverage may be required to pay not
    more than 102 percent of the full premium for the
    employer's other employees
  • In the case of a service member who performs
    service in the uniformed services for less than
    31 days, such person may not be required to pay
    more than the employee share, if any, for such
    coverage

7
If I do not decide to keep my civilian health
care plan.
  • If coverage under a health plan was terminated by
    reason of service in the uniformed services, an
    exclusion or waiting period may not be imposed in
    connection with the reinstatement of such
    coverage upon reemployment under this chapter if
    an exclusion or waiting period would not have
    been imposed under a health plan had coverage of
    such person by such plan not been terminated as a
    result of such service.
  • Applies to the member who is reemployed and to
    any individual who is covered by such plan by
    reason of the reinstatement of the coverage.

8
Conditions for re-employment
  • The person (or an appropriate officer of the
    uniformed service in which such service is
    performed) has given advance written or verbal
    notice of such service to such person's employer
  • The cumulative length of the absence and of all
    previous absences from a position of employment
    with that employer by reason of service in the
    uniformed services does not exceed five years
  • The person reports to, or submits an application
    for reemployment to, such employer.
  • No notice is required if the giving of such
    notice is precluded by military necessity or,
    under all of the relevant circumstances, the
    giving of such notice is otherwise impossible or
    unreasonable.

9
However, a return to your job is not absolutely
guaranteed
  • An employer is not required to reemploy a person
    if
  • The employer's circumstances have so changed as
    to make such reemployment impossible or
    unreasonable
  • In the case of a person entitled to reemployment
    that would impose an undue hardship on the
    employer
  • The employment from which the person leaves to
    serve in the uniformed services is for a brief,
    non-recurrent period and there is no reasonable
    expectation that such employment will continue
    indefinitely or for a significant period. (i.e.
    part-time or seasonal work)

10
What must I do when released from active duty?
  • Notify the employer of your intent to return to
    a position of employment with such employer as
    follows
  • If period of service in the uniformed services
    was less than 31 days, report to the employer
  • not later than the beginning of the first full
    regularly scheduled work period on the first full
    calendar day following the completion of the
    period of service and the expiration of eight
    hours after a period allowing for the safe
    transportation of the person from the place of
    that service to the person's residence or
  • as soon as possible after the expiration of the
    eight-hour period, if reporting within the period
    referred to in such clause is impossible or
    unreasonable through no fault of the person.
  • In the case of a person who is absent from a
    position of employment for a period of any length
    for the purposes of an examination to determine
    the person's fitness to perform service in the
    uniformed services.
  • If service in the uniformed services was for more
    than 30 days but less than 181 days, by
    submitting an application for reemployment with
    the employer not later than 14 days after the
    completion of the period of service If more than
    180 days, by submitting an application for
    reemployment with the employer not later than 90
    days after the completion of service.
  • A person who is hospitalized for, or convalescing
    from, an illness or injury incurred in, or
    aggravated during, the performance of service in
    the uniformed services shall, at the end of the
    period that is necessary for the person to
    recover from such illness or injury, report to
    the person's employer or submit an application
    for reemployment Period of recovery may not
    exceed two years.

11
Your DD-214 is a critical document
  • The DD-214 is sufficient documentation of
    completed active military service to your
    employer. In most cases, a letter of intent for
    re-employment is desirable to initiate the
    process of re-employment.

12
Your employer cannot take legal action against
you under USERRA
  • An employer may not discriminate in employment
    against or take any adverse employment action
    against any person because such person if he or
    she
  • has taken an action to enforce a protection
    afforded under USERRA
  • has testified or otherwise made a statement in or
    in connection with any proceeding under USERRA
  • has assisted or otherwise participated in an
    investigation under has exercised a right
    provided under USERRA.
  • This protection applies with respect to anyone
    regardless of whether that person has performed
    service in the uniformed services.

13
What is Employer Support for the Guard and
Reserve (ESGR)?
  • ESGR is a DoD organization within the Office of
    the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve
    Affairs (ASD/RA
  • Established in 1972 to promote cooperation and
    understanding between Reserve component members
    and their civilian employers and to assist in the
    resolution of conflicts arising from an
    employee's military commitment.
  • It is the lead DoD organization for this mission
    under DoD Directive 1250.1.
  • ESGR operates through a network of hundreds of
    volunteers throughout the nation and Guam, Puerto
    Rico, the Virgin Islands and Europe.

14
ESGR Mission and Goals
  • Mission
  • Gain and maintain active support from all public
    and private employers for the men and women of
    the National Guard and Reserve.
  • Goals
  • Gain support from all identified Reserve
    component employers
  • Advocate for Reserve component employers within
    DoD
  • Ensure viability of all-volunteer force
  • Educate employers and service members

15
ESGR Ombudsman Program
  • ESGR has a national network of over 900 volunteer
    ombudsmen who help resolve issues between
    employers and their employees who serve in the
    National Guard and Reserve. These volunteers
    serve as informal mediators between the employer
    and employee and inform and educate the employer
    and employee on what the law requires and assist
    in finding a mutually agreeable solution.
  • ESGR Ombudsmen have successfully mediated over 95
    percent of cases in the past year.
  • ESGR Ombudsmen can be reached via e-mail at
    ESGRMailbox_at_navy.mil or by phone at
    1.800.336.4590.

16
ESGR is your primary source for USERRA inquiries.
  • www.esgr.org
  • 1-800-336-4590

17
Remember, there are virtually thousands of
resources for you
  • Thanks to the service and sacrifices of many,
    many veterans and volunteers, there is a
    world-wide support network designed to inform,
    educate and protect the interests of Reservists
    and Guardsmen. Do not hesitate to use these
    support agencies. They are there for you.
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