Articles Discussing USERRA.

USERRA prohibits employment discrimination and retaliation based on military status or obligations and includes broad reemployment rights. Recent case shows that a company’s pro-military/veteran position, policies, and programs can help establish a defense to USERRA claims alleging anti-military bias. Other defenses are also important to consider when defending USERRA claims.

On August 22, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its decision in Synoracki v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., reviving a class action under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).1 The case was brought by pilots who served in the Air Force Reserves who were

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) differs in many respects from other employment protection and antidiscrimination statutes. This Insight discusses 10 key aspects of USERRA.

Manufacturers rely on consistent employee attendance to operate production lines and meet critical delivery deadlines to customers. The best-laid production plans can be disrupted by employee absences leaving a gap in the production line. As a result, manufacturers rely on reasonable and enforceable attendance policies to support their operations. Those attendance policies must make room for appropriate employee time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act, state workers’ compensation laws, and perhaps the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Employee leave requests for military duty are likewise protected by law.

USERRA prohibits employment discrimination and retaliation based on military status or obligations and includes broad reemployment rights. USERRA is more far-reaching than other employment anti-discrimination laws in several respects. Multiple pending lawsuits could determine that USERRA requires employers to provide short-term paid military leave

On June 8, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held in Myrick v. City of Hoover, Alabama that military leave is comparable to paid administrative leave under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).

Employers may be surprised to learn that certain employees with greater than five years of military leave may still have reemployment rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). USERRA has numerous exemptions to the statute’s five-year service limit, and employers may need to consult

On June 29, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States decided that a veteran could sue his former employer, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) after the DPS would not accommodate his medical conditions by employing

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) is a federal law that protects the civilian employment of active and reserve component military personnel and veterans. USERRA is a straightforward law with a central objective: to not penalize service members for their service. While most employers have

Executing a general release did not waive a former employee’s claims under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), a federal district court in Tennessee has ruled, granting summary judgment to the employee. Ward v. Shelby County, No. 2:20-cv-02407 (W.D. Tenn. June 25, 2021).

The Supreme Court of Virginia, in Clark v. Virginia Department of State Police, No. 151857 (Dec. 1. 2016), recently ruled that the doctrine of sovereign immunity barred a private plaintiff’s claim under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”) against the Virginia Department of State Police (“VSP”), an arm of the Commonwealth. The Clark decision has made clear that service members working for the Commonwealth of Virginia as the employer cannot bring a lawsuit alleging a violation of USERRA. This decision, however, does not impact the ability of the federal government to bring suit against a state for USERRA violations on behalf of an individual or a private plaintiff’s ability to sue a private employer under USERRA.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) does not prohibit compelling a former employee to arbitrate his USERRA claims under an arbitration agreement, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, has ruled. Ziober v. BLB Resources, Inc., No. 14-56374 (9th Cir. Oct. 14, 2016).

An employer did not violate the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) when it discharged an employee shortly after his return from active duty, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Cincinnati, has held. Slusher v. Shelbyville Hosp. Corp., No. 15-5256 (6th Cir. Oct. 26, 2015).