Headlines about "Military - benefits for, incl. USERRA"
Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
Proposals to Raise Military Retirees' Health Care Premiums Rejected
"The [Armed Services Committee] advanced the fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization Act ..., approving a 1.7 percent pay raise for military service members next year as well as limiting increases to enrollee pharmacy co-pays under the TRICARE program.... But the panel rejected the administration�s recommendations to raise premiums for military retirees based on their retirement pay, among other fee hikes." (Government Executive)
[Guidance Overview] USERRA Rights May Apply Even if Employee Refuses Position for Other Reasons
"The Eleventh Circuit held that [the Alabama agency] violated USERRA and owed [the employee] $25,000 in damages for lost wages and benefits because [he]: Properly informed his employer of his deployment; Was absent for less than two years; Filed for reemployment as soon as he returned from duty." (Practical Law Company)
Revised EEOC Guidance Clarifies Interplay Between ADA and USERRA for Employers, Explains Rights to Veterans with Service-Related Disabilities
"The Commission's revised Guide for Employers explains how the ADA applies to recruiting, hiring and accommodating veterans with disabilities. It also explains how protections for veterans with service-connected disabilities differ under the ADA and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, as well as laws and regulations that may be helpful to employers that want to make hiring veterans with disabilities a priority." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)
[Guidance Overview] DOL's Proposed New FMLA Regulations for Military Families and Airline Crew Members (PDF)
"Most NDAA provisions took effect on October 28, 2009 when the NDAA wassigned into law, but the extension of caregiver leave to veterans' family members is not effective until the DOL issues final regulations that define 'serious injury or illness.' Until then, an eligible employee can still take up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave under existing regulations if the veteran with a serious health condition is a spouse, parent, or child (under 18 or disabled)." (Buck Consultants)
Regulations Limiting Incentives to Employees to Use TRICARE (PDF)
"As [requested], CBO has analyzed whether the limitation on employer incentives to TRICARE-eligible beneficiaries (section 707 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, Public Law 109-364) has resulted in budgetary savings for the Department of Defense." (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)
Military Vs. Civilian Pay in the Federal Budget
"Labor unions representing federal employees are disappointed with President Obama's fiscal 2013 proposal to end the two-year civilian pay freeze that began in 2011, since the suggested raise of 0.5 percent is negated by another proposal to increase the amount employees must contribute to their pensions by 0.4 percent annually for three years, beginning in 2013." (Government Executive)
Pentagon Wants to Raise Some Retirees' Health Fees
"Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has warned that runaway personnel costs at the Pentagon are 'unsustainable,' and on Monday he tried to put a big brake on the spending: Over the next five years the Defense Department plans to nearly quadruple the health insurance fees paid by many working-age military retirees." (The New York Times; free registration required)
[Guidance Overview] Proposed FMLA Changes to Affect Leave Eligibility for Military Caregivers and Airline Crews
"Proposed regulations relating to military caregivers seek to provide job security and peace of mind to military families and caregivers tending to wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans. While the FMLA already provided for military caregiver leave and qualifying exigency leave for family members of the National Guard and Reserves, the proposed regulations extend the exigency leave provisions to include family members of the regular U.S. Armed Forces." (Ballard Spahr LLP)
Lawmakers Wary of Military Retirement Commission Plan
"The DOD proposal calls for authority similar to what has been provided to past base closure and realignment commissions, so that Congress could only give an up-or-down vote on the commission's final recommendations, with no ability to make any changes." (Gannett Government Media Corporation)
[Opinion] Don't Go After Military Pensions
"The Pentagon has reportedly been considering replacing the guaranteed pension that, for more than a century, has been a fundamental compact between the United States and its soldiers, in favor of a market-based 401(k) approach. But this would be a grave mistake, a disincentive to future volunteers and a threat to national security." (The New York Times; free registration required)
[Guidance Overview] IRS Issues 2011 Cumulative List of Changes for Cycle B Plans
"Due to the small number of new items that could affect 401(k) plans, and the specialized nature of those items, many 401(k) plans that were already up-to-date with items on the 2010 list may discover that they do not have to make any documentation changes in response to the 2011 list." (Thomson Reuters/EBIA)
New Veterans Law Offers Tax Credits to Employers and Recognizes Hostile Work Environment Claims under USERRA
"By amending USERRA to prohibit discrimination with respect to the 'terms, conditions, or privileges of employment,' the VOW to Hire Heroes Act establishes the same standard for hostile work environment claims on account of military status as that governing Title VII and similar employment discrimination laws." (Poyner Spruill LLP)
Cutting Retiree Benefits a Sore Subject for Military
"Military retiree benefits cost the Pentagon $50 billion a year. . . . There are 1.9 million military retirees drawing pay and benefits, compared to 1.5 million in the active duty force. In 2010, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates said those costs are 'eating the Defense Department alive.'" (NPR)
Inside The Corporate Plan to Occupy The Pentagon
"[T]he push for pension cuts and other corporate 'reforms' at the Pentagon originates from an obscure advisory panel that has existed for a decade: the Defense Business Board. Its 21 members know little about military affairs, but they are rich in Wall Street experience, including with some of the biggest companies implicated in the 2008 financial meltdown." (Mother Jones)
[Guidance Overview] No Individual Liability for Supervisors under Military Service Anti-Discrimination Law
"The court pointed out that some federal decisions impose liability for individuals under the federal USERRA. But the plaintiff was proceeding under state law, and the language of USERRA is different." (Shaw Valenza LLP)
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