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USERRA FAQs

USERRA provides civilian employment protections for members and veterans of the uniformed services, which includes the Armed Forces (active duty), National Guard or Reserves, and certain other uniformed services such as the National Disaster Medical System, FEMA Urban Search & Rescue, FEMA Reservists, and the Commissioned Corps of both the Public Health Service and NOAA

The U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans Employment and Training Service (DOL-VETS), investigates USERRA claims against all employers- federal, state, local, and private. Further information can be found under How to File a USERRA Complaint" here.

DOL-VETS has 90 days to complete its investigation of USERRA claims, but may request an extension.

While it is best practice to provide copies of your military orders to your employer prior to performing your military duty (if possible), you are not required to do so. You are simply required to provide advance verbal or written notice that the absence is due to military service. However, upon your return, if your military service was for more than 30 days (or if you requested paid military leave for some or all of that service), your employer may request copies of your orders, but cannot delay your reemployment pending receipt of those orders.

In order to obtain reemployment protections under USERRA when you return from military duty, you must report for work or request reemployment within a specific time period. Depending on the length of your military duty as follows:

  • If you were on military duty for less than 30 days, you must report to work on the next regularly scheduled business day or shift that you normally work after time for safe travel plus eight hours' rest.
  • For example, if an individual works a night shift and their military duty ends at 5:00pm on Monday January 1st, and their next regularly scheduled shift is a night shift at 8:00pm Monday January 1st, that individual would not have to report for that shift, but the next one (8:00pm on Tuesday, January 2nd).
  • If you were on military duty for 31 to 180 days, you have to request reemployment within 14 days of the end of your military duty.
  • If you were on military duty for more than 180 days, you have to request reemployment within 90 days of the end of your military duty.

If an individual does not report within the proper time frame, she may be reemployed, but is subject to discipline by her employer for being absent without leave (AWOL) for the amount of time she exceeded the reporting period.

Employers should place service members in a leave without pay (LWOP) status while they are on military duty, unless the employee has paid leave that they wish to use for any of that time. Ideally, the LWOP entry should indicate that the employee is out for military service, as distinct from other types of LWOP such as a leave of absence or furlough; many employers designate this type of leave as LWOP-US or LWOP-MIL. Employees should not be placed on absent without leave status (AWOL), even pending submission of a copy of their orders.

Please see Additional Resources here

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