Honoring Veterans by Complying with Employment Law Obligations

Practical Law Legal Update 8-522-2681 (Approx. 5 pages)

Honoring Veterans by Complying with Employment Law Obligations

by PLC Labor & Employment

Published on 06 Nov 2012 • USA (National/Federal)

This Legal Update highlights pertinent resources about employers' legal obligations regarding veterans and their families and care-givers.

As Veterans Day approaches and the US is winding down its military presence in the Middle East, many employers are looking for ways to express their gratitude to military service men and women who are returning home permanently or between deployments. Veterans may appreciate when employers support local parades, send e-mails to all employees expressing thanks to veterans and their families, and fly extra American flags. However, employers may first honor veterans by ensuring that they comply with federal and state employment laws that:

Prohibit discrimination and harassment against veterans.
Require employers to reinstate returning uniformed service members in most circumstances.
Require employers to grant leaves of absence for members of the military, their families and their care-givers in certain circumstances.
Require federal government contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative action to employ and advance veterans in employment.

At the outset, employers should get up to speed on three federal statutes aimed at protecting veterans from employment discrimination and advancing their employment.

The federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) grants employees rights when returning to work after serving in the uniformed services for, in most cases, less than five years. In particular, it requires that employees returning from military leave be:

Promptly re-employed.
Reinstated with all rights and benefits that the employee would have earned without a break in employment.
Provided training or retraining as needed to integrate into the new position.
Provided health benefits during the first 24 months of military leave.

USERRA also prohibits employment discrimination and harassment on the basis of past, present or prospective military service.

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) requires, among other things, that covered employers to provide eligible employees with unpaid, job-protected leave for family or medical reasons, including:

To care for certain family members who are qualifying covered service members with a serious injury or illness.
For a qualifying exigency due to the employee's spouse, son, daughter or parent being on active duty or their call to active duty status.

Many states have also enacted legislation that similarly prohibits discrimination against veterans and require employers to grant leave to military service members and their families.

Finally, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA) imposes a broad range of obligations on federal contractors and subcontractors to promote the employment of veterans. In particular, the VEVRAA:

Prohibits covered federal government contractors and subcontractors from discriminating against specified categories of veterans, protected by the statute, who are:
- special disabled veterans;
- recently separated veterans;
- veterans of the Vietnam era; and
- armed forces service medal veterans.
Requires covered federal government contractors and subcontractors to:
- take affirmative action to employ and advance veterans in employment;
- maintain certain employment records about covered veterans, including job listings, applications and employee files relevant to the recruitment, hiring and employment actions;
- list employment openings with particular employment agencies that give priority to covered veterans when referring job seekers to the openings; and
- submit annual reports on the number of current employees who are covered veterans.

Practical Law Company has published a suite of resources that:

Inform employers of their federal and state employment law obligations to prevent discrimination against and aid veterans, their families and their care-givers under USERRA, the FMLA, related state laws and the VEVRAA.
Identify best practices and agendas for administering these laws.
Provide model language for policies and certifications related to these laws.

These resources include:

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