BNA Books, a division of specialized news and information publisher BNA, announced today the publication of The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. This new treatise is published by BNA Books in cooperation with the American Bar Association’s Section of Labor and Employment Law. Knowledge of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) — the federal act governing military leave and discrimination/retaliation issues resulting from military service — is critical in today’s workplace, where the number of American employees in military service remains substantial. USERRA is one of the broadest statutes that exists with regard to granting employees leave from employment; in fact, it covers every employer in the United States. This new treatise provides a comprehensive analysis of USERRA’s breadth and the myriad complicated issues involved with its application and enforcement. The authors are practitioners who represent both employers and employees, thereby providing a more balanced view of USERRA. This new publication analyzes USERRA’s critical issues, including:
- A history of USERRA and its predecessors
- Coverage of employers and employees under USERRA
- Leave entitlements and the requirements placed on both employers and employees regarding leave requests
- Issues of leave scheduling and notice requirements
- Pay and benefits when an employee is taking a leave of absence under USERRA
- Healthcare and non-healthcare benefits that a returning employee is entitled to receive
- Discrimination and retaliation rights
- Remedies and enforcement mechanisms
- USERRA’s relationship with other statutes, both on the federal level and those enacted by various states
Having practitioners from both sides of the aisle provide their views of the major issues allows for detailed analysis of the pitfalls of this broad statute. The cooperative basis through which The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act has been developed is sure to assist all attorneys working with USERRA to have a better understanding of its proper interpretation and purposes. The Editors-in-Chief of The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act are George R. Wood, an attorney with Littler Mendelson, P.C. Minneapolis, MN and Ossai Miazad, an attorney with Outten & Golden LLP. The authors are members of the USERRA Subcommittee of the Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee, of the American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law.