Veterans’ Retain Reemployment Rights

Federal law preserves the following job rights for reservists and members of the National Guard:

• Federal law (Chapter 43 of Part III of Title 38, U.S. Code) says that if a reservist requests leave to attend military training the employer must grant it.

• Federal law covers employees in private industry and employees of federal, state, and local governments. It does not apply, however, to temporary employees.

• Job-protection extends to members of all branches of service — both National Guard and Reserve — and to all kinds of military training as long as it is under federal orders.

• The employee must return to work at the start of the next regularly scheduled shift after expiration of the last calendar day necessary to travel home from training or after he or she has had reasonable time to rest.

• It is reasonable for the employer to want information on a return date but sometimes impossible for the reservist to furnish it. However, the employee should try to give the employer the approximate beginning and concluding dates of training as well as the approximate travel time involved.

• Employees away for military training are not on a formal leave of absence. Consequently, they do not require “reemployment.” It is more appropriate to say that they simply return to their jobs.

• Some employers as a matter of policy or contract do pay for time lost because of military training; others do not. Such payment is outside the scope of the reemployment law.

• In most cases, disability extends the length of time an employee is allowed to return to work. If the disability turns out to handicap the employee more or less permanently, the employer still has responsibilities to the employee. Such cases should be reviewed with a representative of the Labor Department’s Office of Veterans’ Reemployment Rights.

• An employee cannot be denied a promotion because of the obligations imposed by membership in a Reserve component. This means that a reservist, if as well qualified as other employees, cannot be denied promotion or advancement because military training affects his or her work schedule.

• An employer is not obliged to reschedule the reservist in order to avoid scheduling conflicts between work and military training unless such rescheduling is done for employees on other types of leaves of absence or unless such rescheduling is required as a result of employer policy or collective bargaining.

• An employer is not obliged to provide make-up opportunities to work overtime that are lost by reservists because of military training unless employees on other types of leaves of absence are provided with opportunities to make up lost overtime.

• Where eligibility for vacation depends on fulfilling a work requirement, reservist employees must perform the work to be entitled to the vacation. Where the value of vacation depends upon years of service, the reservist’s vacation is determined by continuous employment and absence at reserve training is to be counted toward the value of the vacation. Because of the complexity of the vacation issue, specific questions about vacation rights should be referred to a representative of the Office of Veterans’ Reemployment Rights.

• The statute is silent as to both the duration and frequency of training tours which require absence from the civilian employer. In the absence of statutory limitations, it is suggested that the reservist employee be reasonable in his or her request for military leaves of absence and that training relate to military occupational specialties and to the needs of the Armed Forces.