Military Leave
As most of you know, if you have been
called to active military service, you have specific rights and
responsibilities under the federal Uniform Services Employment and
Re-employment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). First of all, you are
protected from any form of discrimination because of past, current
or future military obligations. You must give your employer advance
written notice of your leave for military service. However, no
notice is required if military necessity prevents such notice, or if
the giving of notice is otherwise impossible or unreasonable.
While on leave for military service,
you will participate in any rights and benefits not based on
seniority that are available to employees on non-military leaves of
absence, whether paid or unpaid. At your request, you must be
allowed to use vacation time that accrued before your leave, but you
cannot be forced to use vacation time for military leave. Your
employer is required to provide you with continuing health benefits.
When you return, USERRA guarantees
your re-employment, provided you were honorably discharged and gave
notice of your leave. You must apply for reinstatement within a
given amount of time of your return, which time depends on how long
you served.
It is important to note that when you are reinstated, it should be
on the basis of stepping back into the seniority escalator at the
point you would have occupied if you had remained continuously
employed. For example, if you would have been promoted with a
reasonable certainty if you had not been absent, then you would be
entitled to that promotion upon your reinstatement. Consistent with
this principle, you are entitled to the seniority and all seniority
based rights and benefits you would have obtained with reasonable
certainty if you had remained continuously employed.
In conclusion, check with your
military advisor upon completion of your service in order to find
out how long you have to report back to your job. Feel free to
contact the Union with any other questions you may have. Finally,
many many thanks from the staff and your fellow members of Local 367
for your service. Good Luck!
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