Your Right to Return to Work After Military Service

If you are called to active duty military service, then you have the right to return to your place of employment after your tour of duty is over. Congress passed the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA, to protect you from losing your job or benefits when you are called to duty.

However, some exceptions to reemployment that your employer is legally entitled to exist as well. Here is more about your rights to reclaim your job after you return from military service and exceptions your employer is allowed to take.

Activities Protected by USERRA

USERRA protects most employees who are called to serve in any of the official uniformed services of the United States. You are eligible whether you in voluntary or involuntary service. Service can include training, full-time National Guard activities, and natural disaster duty.

Uniformed services include, but are not limited to, the Army, Navy, Marines, National Guard, Air Force, Coast Guard, and any of their reserve units. Uniformed services also include other presidential-appointed categories during war time.

Benefits Protected by USERRA

When you return from your service, your employer is required to reemploy you at the same position, seniority, and benefit levels as long as you were gone for less than five years (or more for certain military positions and activities). You should be treated as if you had never left job during the time you were gone. If you were due to be promoted during your leave of absence, then your employer is obligated to elevate you to that position.

If you receive health and other benefits from your employer, then you can continue to receive those benefits while you are serving for up to 24 months. However, your employer may require you to pay the premiums. You are also entitled to use annual leave, instead of vacation time, for your leave of absence, and you are also entitled to the same benefits as anyone else who is on annual leave.

Obligations to Your Employer

While you have reemployment rights if you are called to duty, you also have some responsibilities to your employer. If possible, you must give your employer as much advance notice of your upcoming military service as you are able. Exceptions to this rule include if you had little or no advanced notice or there is a military-necessary reason for not doing so.

You also must reapply for your former job as soon as your duty is over. Failing to do so does not necessarily disqualify you from getting your job back, but it can complicate your case if your employer refuses to hire you back. Also, you must have a general or honorable discharge to be eligible.

Rights of Your Employer

Your employer can make an exception to your reemployment, but under very specific circumstances. If the company had to downsize and eliminate your job while you were gone, and no similar job is available, then your employer doesn't have to hire you back.

If you return with a disability, and accommodating your disability would cause an undue hardship to the employer, then your employer may be excused from rehiring you.

If your original position was a temporary, seasonal, or other non-recurrent position, then you had no reasonable expectation that the job would be available when you returned and the employer does not need to rehire you.

When you are called to military duty, not only do you have the right to be treated like any other employee on leave, you also have the right to pick up from where you left off when you come back.

However, you also have obligations to your employer and your employer has rights as well. If you have returned from active military duty, and you feel that your employer is not following the law with your job, then contact Allen D. Arnold Attorney at Law for a consultation.

Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct Notice: No Representation is made that the quality of legal services offered is greater than that of other lawyers. The information contained on this website is not a substitute for legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.