New Notice Requirements under the Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
by Pamela M. Macal

In December of 2004, the President signed the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act into law, which made changes in the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) regarding the rights of employees called to military service. One of the new requirement is that employers provide a notice to employees of their rights and benefits under USERRA as of March 10, 2005 . All employers, regardless of size, have to comply with this requirement.

On March 10, 2005 , the Department of Labor (DOL) released an "interim final rule" containing sample text for the notice. A copy of that notice can be found at www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/poster.pdf. An employer can satisfy the notice obligation by posting copies of the DOL's notice in each location that is customarily used for posting similar notices to its employees (such as EEO posters). The rules also allow the employer to provide the notice in other ways which assure that each employee receives the full text of the notice, such as by hand delivery, by mail or by e‑mail. Note that all employees (and all future employees) have to get the notice, not just those known to be in the military.

The DOL obviously failed to give employers adequate time to get the notice posted by the March 10th deadline. However, because USERRA can be enforced by private suit and by two other federal agencies, the DOL noted in the preamble to its rules that it lacks the authority to delay enforcement of this notice requirement. Hence, employers should attempt to get the notice posted (or distributed to employees by some other means) as soon as possible.

This article is intended for general informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice. Always contact your legal counsel for advice or answers to your questions.