News Archive

"Employers must provide eligible employees with up to five years of unpaid leave during the life of their employment. Throughout this period, employers must maintain the employee's seniority, health care, and pension benefits.... USERRA applies to all employers -- private and public -- regardless of the number of workers."  MORE >>

"USERRA requires health plans to offer continuation coverage under certain circumstances.... But your former employee will not be entitled to USERRA coverage under your plan because he was not employed by your company when he was called to active duty -- his uniformed service did not cause him to be absent from employment with your company."  MORE >>

"Currently, contributions to a servicemember's TSP stop when they leave military or federal service, forcing veterans to find and open a new account to continue saving. Qualified retirees and veterans could continue making voluntary contributions under [the Financial Opportunities for Retirees and Warriors Advancing Retirement Development (FORWARD) Act (HR 4996)] from their retired pay or disability compensation, but the bill does not authorize government matching contributions."  MORE >>

"The Trump administration has deployed troops to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., in recent months, and the president has named four more cities where he intends to deploy troops. Employers must provide job-protected leave to service members who are called to military duty. Domestic deployments for natural disasters or other emergencies may impact private employers with regard to their staffing levels, compensation costs, and employee benefits administration."  MORE >>

"[The] court stressed that in fact the evidence demonstrated that the employer had taken a decidedly pro-military stance.... In finding that the plaintiff failed to present evidence of anti-military bias, the court noted that the company's voluntary 401(k) make-up contributions for employees serving in the military appeared to contradict this claim." [Porter v. Trans State Holdings, Inc., No. 23-0263 (D. Colo. Nov. 7, 2024)]  MORE >>

"While the update does not provide any new guidance, it does provide a summary of the rules applicable to 401(k) plans when veterans are reemployed. "  MORE >>

Updated Nov. 8, 2024. "[1] Employer contributions: What is the basic rule for employers re-employing veterans? ... How long does an employer have to make these makeup contributions? Are there special rules for forfeitures or lost earnings? [2] Employee contributions: ... How long do rehired veterans have to make up elective contributions? ... In a 401(k) plan, who decides whether the returned employee's 401(k) contribution is a makeup contribution or a current deferral? ... [3] Participant loans: Can a plan allow for a suspension of plan loan repayments when the participant is performing military service? What happens to the loan when the veteran is rehired? Is there a cap on the interest rate used during the military service period? [4] W-2 reporting."  MORE >>

"Currently, a federal employee may take up to 15 days of paid leave in connection with their service or training with the National Guard or reserves. While that may be sufficient for a federal worker who works a traditional weekday schedule, employees like federal firefighters, correctional and law enforcement officers who often work weekends must often dip into annual or sick leave -- or take unpaid leave -- in order to fulfill their training and service obligations."  MORE >>

"The Ninth Circuit has vacated and remanded, finding the district court's decision was issued before [the appellate court's] 2023 holding that when assessing USERRA claims, comparability of the military leave taken by the service member and other paid leave offered by an employer is to be determined by examining the length of the leave at issue, rather than by using a categorical approach.... The Ninth, Seventh, Third, and Eleventh Circuits have all ruled that employers that pay employees for some types of short-term leave must provide equal benefits to employees who take short-term leave for military service." [Synoracki v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., No. 22-35504 (9th Cir. Aug. 22, 2024, rehearing denied Oct. 16, 2024; unpub.)]  MORE >>

"In California, temporary military leave gives certain rights to employees of public agencies who take time away from work to serve in the reserves, the National Guard, or the Naval Militia. While this leave may be less common than sick leave, vacation, or maternity and paternity leave, it's important to know how to handle requests from employees who serve."  MORE >>

"In the past three years, four federal appellate courts have held that an employer may be required to offer paid leave for an employee's military service where the leave is comparable to paid leave offered by the employer for non-military reasons."  MORE >>

"89 percent of military households with incomes of $75,000 or more are confident that they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement compared with 81 percent of their non-military counterparts.... [M]ilitary households are more likely than non-military households to say they use non-profit organizations that focus on serving a specific group or community as a source of information, while non-military households are more likely to say that family and friends are a source of information."  MORE >>

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has joined [the Ninth and Seventh] Circuits in finding that employers who provide paid leave for short-term absences, like jury duty or bereavement leave, may be required to provide similar paid leave for short-term military purposes under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act." [Scanlan v. American Airlines Group, Inc., No. 22-3294 (3d Cir. May 21, 2024)]

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"[T]he court compared short-term military leave to bereavement and jury-duty leave. Specifically, it examined how comparable the forms of leave were in [1] duration, [2] purpose, and [3] control (i.e., the ability of the employee to choose when to take the leave).... The Third Circuit concluded that a jury should always decide." [Scanlan v. American Airlines Group, Inc., No. 22-3294 (3d Cir. May 21, 2024)]   MORE >>

"The military retirement system is a government-funded system that provides a defined benefit to all retirees and matching government contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) for eligible servicemembers.... The system includes monthly compensation for qualified active and reserve retirees, disability benefits for those deemed medically unfit to serve, and a survivor annuity program for the eligible survivors of deceased retirees." [IF10483 May 20, 2024]

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"State employees can purchase pension credits in the NVPERS-operated system once they pass their five-year employment anniversary.... The federal complaint alleges NVPERS violated [USERRA] by charging reemployed servicemembers based on when they were re-employed, rather than when they passed their fifth anniversary." [U.S. v. Nevada, No. 24-0026 (D. Nev. complaint filed Jan. 17, 2024)]  MORE >>

"[R]ecent history, including ... pending high-stakes litigation regarding whether employers must provide paid short-term military leave in certain cases, shows that the efforts of employers to comply with USERRA may be more critical today than at any previous point in the law's lifespan.... [Here are ten] reasons employers should pay more attention to USERRA and its expansive protections for service members and veterans."  MORE >>

"Employers should adopt a written military leave policy that covers eligibility, benefits, and procedures for employees in the uniformed services that aligns with USERRA. Employers should also incorporate USERRA into anti-discrimination policies and training programs."

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"Rather than accepting an employer's conclusion, the Court must determine whether other types of leave are comparable. This involves three factors: [1] the duration of the leave, [2] the purpose of the leave, and [3] the ability of employees to choose when to take the leave." [Myrick v City of Hoover Alabama, No. 22-11621 (11th Cir. Jun. 8, 2023)]  MORE >>

"The plaintiffs, who all had taken military-related leave, sued their municipal employer under USERRA claiming disparate treatment because the city did not grant them the same benefits it provided for employees on paid administrative leave.... In finding for the employees, the court cited three factors as determinative -- the duration of the leave, the purpose of the leave, and the ability of employees to choose when to take the leave." [Myrick v. City of Hoover, Alabama, No. 22-11621 (11th Cir. Jun. 8, 2023)]

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"[Effective] February 19, 2023, ... the Military Leave Pay Protection Act (MLPPA) ... requires private San Francisco employers who have at least 100 employees worldwide, to ... pay their employees the difference between their gross military pay and their gross pay as employees, for up to 30 days in a calendar year.... [T]he San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) [has] published some helpful FAQs on the application of this new ordinance."  MORE >>

"The guidance provides answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) regarding the ordinances, such as which employers are covered by the ordinance, which employees are covered, and how to calculate supplemental pay. The FAQ notes the following important points:"

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"[The Ninth Circuit] ruled that the district court erred by comparing all military leaves, rather than just the short-term military leaves at issue here, with non-military leaves. It then noted that 'comparability is a question of fact.' It is, therefore, a question for the jury unless the facts of a case suggest that no reasonable jury could see enough commonality for a meaningful comparison." [Clarkson v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., No. 21-35473 (9th Cir. Feb. 1, 2023)]

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"New FAQs provide employers in San Francisco with answers about the calculation and payment of supplemental compensation for employees on covered military leave under the Military Leave Pay Protection Act (MLPPA). The FAQs also address notice to employees about their MLPPA rights and responsibilities. These FAQs will look familiar to employers subject to the Paid Parental Leave Ordinance."  MORE >>

"Generally, when determining whether a non-military leave is comparable, an employer should consider duration, purpose, and control. The district court considered the leave's frequency as an integral part of the duration analysis and disregarded conflicting evidence and factual disputes about the purpose of military leave and the ability of pilots to control when they take military leave. The Ninth Circuit also reiterated that duration is the most significant factor in the comparability analysis." [Clarkson v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., No. 21-35473 (9th Cir. Feb. 1, 2023)]

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