The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has increased its enforcement activities against employers suspected of violating the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). USERRA prohibits discrimination against men and women who serve in the military and entitles them to return to their jobs following service with the same pay, benefits, and employment status they would have had if continuously employed.
According to Employee Benefit News, the DOJ filed 14 lawsuits based on USERRA violations in the first six months of 2009, compared to 12 in all of 2008, seven in 2007, and three in 2006.
The violations in the 2009 lawsuits address the reemployment of reservists returning to work following active duty. Claims include failure to reemploy, failure to apply the escalator principle, failure to accommodate a disability, wrongful failure to promote, unlawful termination, and unlawful retaliation.
Administrators should review the provisions of USERRA to ensure that their districts are in compliance. Information on employer obligations under USERRA are addressed in the Employee Military Leave 
section of the HR Library, in The Administrator’s Guide to Managing Leaves and Absences and in an online FAQ available from TASB Legal Services .
Employers that fail to comply with USERRA can be required to reinstate, promote, or reassign the employee in question and provide reasonable accommodation for an injury if needed, pay lost wages and benefits, pay multiple damages for willful violations, and pay attorney’s fees.
—“Legal Alert: DOJ cracks down on USERRA compliance,” by David Henderson and Matthew Ritchie, Employee Benefit News online, Oct. 16, 2009.
