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Employment Protections for the Citizen-Soldier

BY Dan L. Hargrove
December 01, 2003

Throughout its history, the United States has opposed a standing professional military. Instead, our nation has structured its armed forces so that our national security heavily relies upon reservists, particularly after Vietnam. Since 9/11 alone, nearly 200,000 reservists have been mobilized, with thousands more expected to be so. And many of those reservists who completed their initial mobilization were later remobilized for a second time. In a dramatic departure from the past, the Defense Department has begun deploying Guardsman to such places as the Balkans, the Sinai, Iraq, and almost everywhere else the regular forces go.

Many of these mobilized citizen-soldiers have valuable skills that are of particular use to the military. After major military operations came to a close in Iraq and the mission evolved into one of stabilizing the country, police officers were in high demand. The military then reached out to reservists with this skill set and mobilized them, which in turn created a labor shortage for some local police departments. Employers often find themselves stuck between competing interests: running their business versus “supporting the troops.” This tension is often a source of employment disputes.

When mobilized, these citizen-soldiers leave behind families and careers. To mitigate this hardship, Congress enacted the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA or Act), which provides reemployment protection and other benefits for employees who are called to military service. Because of its broad protections and remedies, HR professionals are well advised to ensure that their employers are in compliance with the Act.

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