VETS provides assistance to those persons experiencing service connected problems with their civilian employment and provides information about USERRA to employers. VETS also assists veterans who have questions regarding Veterans' Preference.
For more information and to determine whether your USERRA rights have been violated, please visit the USERRA Advisor.
USERRA Facts & Figures
38% of reviewed complaints under USERRA contained allegations of discrimination on the basis of past, present or future military service or status
25% of the complaints involved allegations of improper reinstatement into civilian jobs following military service
1,328 unique USERRA complaint cases in Fiscal year 2013
Success Stories
USERRA Helps Army Reservist in Florida
Army reservist Scott Harrison spent years planning and supporting global military operations in Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq. As a reservist, he achieved the rank of colonel in the Army. In Florida, the company Harrison worked for failed to provide him with promotions and raises for a variety of reasons.
After trying to collaborate with the company to recapture the raises and promotions, Harrison filed a claim with the department under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. USERRA mandates that returning service members must be promptly re-employed in the same position that they would have attained had they not been absent for military service, with the same seniority, status and pay. An investigator from the department's Veterans' Employment and Training Service collects and reviews evidence and conducts witness interviews in order to obtain a resolution. Harrison's company settled the claim after a review. He has been promoted and paid $96,000 in lost wages. Harrison said, "The Department of Labor was able to advocate on my behalf and get results I could not get on my own."
VETS Assists Police Officer with USERRA
Law enforcement officer Brian Benvie received a promotion, retroactive seniority and back pay through his claims filed with the Veterans' Employment and Training Service under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act. Benvie, an Army reservist who has served deployments in Kosovo, Iraq and Kuwait, first missed taking promotional exams for sergeant and lieutenant at the Brockton, Mass., police force due to active military duty. When he eventually took the exam, he found others were promoted ahead of him even though he scored better. Compounding the situation, his time in grade for promotions was miscalculated.
Benvie filed complaints under USERRA and received swift help from VETS staff in the national office and the regional office in Atlanta. "They were a big help because they took my case," Benvie said. VETS eventually referred the case to the Department of Justice, which reached a settlement with the City of Brockton that included more than $32,000 in back pay. Benvie said the positive outcomes on promotion, seniority and pay through USERRA "will have ramifications for the rest of my life."
Annual Reports
- 2015 USERRA Annual Report to Congress (PDF)
- 2014 USERRA Annual Report to Congress (PDF)
- 2013 USERRA Annual Report to Congress (PDF)
- 2012 USERRA Annual Report to Congress (PDF)
- 2011 USERRA Annual Report to Congress (PDF)
- 2010 USERRA Annual Report to Congress (PDF)
- 2009 USERRA Annual Report to Congress (PDF)
- 2008 USERRA Annual Report to Congress (PDF)
- 2007 USERRA Annual Report to Congress (PDF)
- 2006 USERRA Annual Report to Congress (PDF)