Evaluating the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act Through the Lens of an Operational Reserve Force
Abstract
The nations Reserve forces underwent a transition in the 20th century from a strategic Reserve to an operational Reserve. In order to ensure the Reserve Component can sustain the increased demands placed upon it to augment and reinforce the Active Component, Congress has enacted multiple laws throughout the years to provide employment and reemployment rights protections to Reservists during times of military mobilization. This paper explores whether the current construct of those laws, USERRA, is adequately aligned with the utilization of the operational Reserve force and looks at currently perceived issues with USERRA and proposals to mitigate those issues in an attempt to identify areas or methods of improvement. This paper concludes that USERRA is adequately written to serve an operational Reserve force. USERRA violations do not stem from how the laws are written or the employment of the Reserve Component, but from a lack of knowledge by the Reservist, employer, or both. USERRA violation cases can be reduced through education initiatives targeting both Reservists and their employers. These initiatives can be accomplished through coordinated efforts of the Department of Defense and the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) programs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 09, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1177047
Entities
People
- Chad M. Hailey
Organizations
- Marine Corps University