Obligations To Employees Called To Military Service

This article originally appeared in Anderson Kill's Employment Law Insider (Winter 2003).

Against the backdrop of escalating hostilities in the Middle East and reports of President Bush calling-up 100,000 military reservists to active duty, employers should be increasingly concerned with their military leave obligations under the Federal Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”). The 1994 law prohibits discrimination toward returning service members, reservists and National Guard members based on their active military duty or training obligations. This prohibition covers past, present and future military service and extends to most areas of employment, including hiring, promotion, re-employment and employee benefits.