USERRA Enforcement: From the Battlefield to the Office-What You Need to Know As Service Members Return to Work

Description

With the anticipated scale down of military operations in the next several months, employees who were on military leave during the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan will be returning home, and ready to return to work. In most circumstances, employers with returning service personnel are required to re-employ these service members to the positions they would have attained except for their military service.

To avoid potential lawsuits from and investigations by the U.S. Justice Department or Department of Labor, employers must know all that is entailed in complying with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). For example, not only must employers be prepared to return service members to work, but they have to consider the appropriate position, pay, and attendant benefits, which are often not the same as what the employee had before he or she left for duty. Employers must also be prepared to address their responsibilities with regard to employees who may have been disabled during the conflict.

Program Highlights:

• Discussion of the basic USERRA issues (i.e. notice of leave, compensation considerations, hiring of replacement workers, etc.)
• Benefit continuation while on leave
• Employer responsibilities if an employee becomes injured or disabled while on leave
• Discussion of rights upon returning from military leave, such as reemployment issues, reinstatement of benefits, retirement plan catch-up, and certain protections from discharge
• Circumstances under which an employer need not re-employ a returning service member

Recording Date

Speakers

Dean Silverberg is a member of the labor and employment practice group in the New York office of the Epstein Becker & Green law firm. He practices both public and private-sector labor and employment law, and is actively involved in employment and workplace tort litigation, labor arbitration, collective bargaining negotiations, wage and hour audits, and human resource consultation and management. Mr. Silverberg frequently writes and lectures on a wide range of employment and labor law topics including best practices in personnel management, effective employee discipline, wage and hour, employer obligations under various leave statutes such as the FMLA and USERRA, and related human resources topics.

Tracey A. Cullen is an Associate in the labor and employment practice of Epstein Becker & Green’s Stamford office. Ms. Cullen represents management in various aspects of labor and employment law, including discrimination, wrongful discharge, harassment, wage and hour, and employment contract cases. She also advises clients on a variety of employment issues, including discrimination, harassment, termination and military leave obligations. Ms. Cullen has co-authored all four editions of the Employers Guide to Military Leave Compliance, published by Thompson Publishing Group.  

Presentation Materials

Listen and watch the presentation online or download the files below.