Legislation

The following reflects pre-cursors to USERRA, USERRA, and additional legislation enacted relating to USERRA.

Public Law (PL) 93-508, "Veterans' Education and Rehabilitation Amendments Act," December 3, 1974 PL 93-508 increased the rates of educational assistance payable to veterans, established a veterans' and dependents' education loan program, and required the reemployment of veterans at their former jobs for any veterans who were inducted into the armed forces upon discharge from service.

PL 102-25, "Persian Gulf War Veterans' Benefits Act of 1991," April 6, 1991 PL 102-25 provided numerous enhancements to benefits available for veterans of the Persian Gulf War.  Of these benefits, PL 102-25 revised veterans' reemployment rights to state that disabled veterans shall be considered qualified for reemployment if the veteran can perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodations. PL 102-25 requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to disabled veterans unless the employer can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the business. It also requires employers to make reasonable efforts to re-qualify service members returning to their employment positions held before service.

PL 103-353, "Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994," October 13, 1994 PL 103-353 replaced the Veterans' Reemployment Rights law, providing protections for service members who wish to retain their civilian jobs upon reporting back from military service.

PL 104-275, "Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1996," October 9, 1996 PL 104-275 provides various improvements to the benefits afforded to veterans of the United States military. It specifically amended the USERRA of 1994 to remove requirements stating that veterans must be discharged under honorable conditions for eligibility, revised the general provisions prohibiting employer discrimination, and revised the transition rules and effective dates.

PL 105-368, "Veterans Programs Enhancement Act of 1998," November 11, 1998 PL 105-368 provided cost of living adjustments to compensation paid to service-disabled veterans and implemented improvements to veterans' programs (such as education, housing, and cemetery programs).  In relation to USERRA, PL 105-368 allows veterans, who receive notification of an unsuccessful effort to resolve a complaint, to request the Secretary of Defense to refer the complaint to the Attorney General and empowers United States district courts to hear USERRA cases on behalf of veterans. PL 105-368 requires payment of any claim for compensation considered to be lost wages, benefits, or liquidated damages to be paid directly to the veteran.

PL 108-189, "Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) of 2003," December 19, 2003 PL 108-189 amends the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940 to revise and update the Act.  Particularly related to USERRA, PL 108-189 extends certain rights and protections to Reserve Component personnel ordered to report for military service. The SCRA provides active duty service members protections against judgments, caps interest owed on debts at six percent, prevents eviction of service members or their dependents if rent is less than $2,400, and prohibits creditors from terminating loans for "breach of contract" while the service member is in active duty status.

PL 108-454, "Veterans Benefit Improvement Act of 2004," December 10, 2004 PL 108-454 amended Title 38 of the United States Code (USC) to improve and extend housing, education, and other benefits for veterans of military service. PL 108-454 extended the period of coverage for employer-sponsored health care from eighteen to twenty-four months and required employers to provide notice to their employees of their rights under USERRA. Additionally, PL 108-454 established a demonstration project under which the United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC) will directly investigate federal sector USERRA claims for persons with odd-number ending social security numbers rather than the Department of Labor’s Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS).

PL 110-389, "Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008," October 10, 2008 This legislation reformed the USERRA complaint process and modified/expanded the reporting requirements with respect to the enforcement of USERRA.

Title 5 USC §6323, "Military Leave; Reserve and National Guardsmen," January 7, 2011 This legislation provides federal government civilian employees who are members of the Reserve or National Guard paid leave up to 120 hours each year for military duties.

Title 5 USC Chapter 63, Subchapter V, "Family and Medical Leave," January 7, 2011  and Title 29 USC, Chapter 28, "Family and Medical Leave," February 1, 2010 The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees of a covered employer the right to take up to twelve workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave, during any twelve months, for the birth and care of a newborn, adoption or foster care, or a serious health condition of the employee or certain family members. The FMLA was enacted in 1993 and is codified at 5 USC §6381 to §6387 for employees of federal agencies and at 29 USC §2601 to §2654 for employees of nonfederal agencies.  Concerning USERRA, the returning service member may be entitled to the benefit described by the FMLA.

Title 38 USC Chapter 43, "Employment and Reemployment Rights of Members of the Uniformed Services," February 1, 2010 This legislation provides a listing of prohibitions in reference to employment and reemployment rights and procedures for receiving assistance, enforcement, and investigation of infringements of the rights of service members.

Title 20 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1002, "Regulations under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994" This regulation implements USERRA to establish rights and benefits for employees and duties for employers.