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USERRA and Alaskan Employees

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We have an employee in Alaska that claims to be taking a leave in order to tend to some military service. The employee would be protected under USERRA, right?

That is correct. If you have an employee that is taking a leave from work in order to serve in active or inactive duty, partake in training, or go overseas with the military, that employee is protected by USERRA. USERRA is an acronym that stands for a federal Act known as the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

USERRA impacts all employees in business in all states across the U.S., including Alaska. The Act was put into place in 1994 in order to replace the Act called the Veterans’ Reemployment Rights Act. USERRA basically is in place in order to ensure that employers will not discriminate against employees that are called upon to serve active duty.

If an employer knows that a potential employee is going to be serving in active duty at some point over the course of that person’s time with the company, the employer is prohibited from discriminating against the employee during the hiring process. Employers may not discriminate against current employees that may serve active duty either, including during times of promotions, firings, or when benefits are offered.

Those employees that take time off of work in order to serve in active duty should expect to receive the same job or an equivalent job when they return to work. They should also expect to receive the same benefits, salary and other features associated with the position, such as a bonus and seniority.

The employees must inform the employer in advance of their military service, when they have advanced notice. They will lose their rights to return to work with the same benefits and position if they are dishonorably discharged from service. Also, all branches of service are covered under USERRA, including Coast Guard, Armed Forces, National Guard, and Public Health Service. CB