THE UNIFORMED SERVICES EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ACT AND ITS' COURT HISTORY

HENRY FINDLEY
LEE VARDAMAN
ROBERT WHEATLEY
TISH MATUSZEK


DOI: 10.2190/AD6H-W37V-W5CX-QEHQ

Abstract

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and its court interpretations have received little academic scrutiny. Given the hundreds of thousands of National Guards and reservists that are being mobilized and demobilized in a conflict that has no end in sight, it is worthy of review. This article reviews the major provisions of the USERRA and shows their application through an analysis of more than forty related court cases. We close with a set of guiding principles for managers. Essentially, we argue that there are serious gaps in the USERRA that need to be addressed at the national level, including differentials between company and military pay, the payment of premiums on health-care plans while on military leave, and performance-related types of pay. Because of these gaps, many potential military personnel could be rethinking their commitments to the military.

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