Know the Rights of Military Employees

Given America's continuing military involvement overseas, the U.S. armed forces have in recent years made greater use of military reservists and National Guard members. This Memorial Day, civilian employers should recall the legal issues concerning the re-employment rights that military service members have when they return from active duty.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act protects any employee who must be absent from civilian employment because of active-duty military service when all of the following apply

• The employee provides advance notice to the civilian employer.
  
• The cumulative length of the employee's military absence does not exceed five years.
  
• The employee returns to work within the period prescribed by law or submits a timely application for re-employment.
  
• The character of the employee's service does not disqualify him or her from re-employment.

USERRA generally requires employers to reinstate returning service members within two weeks after they apply for re-employment. Returning veterans also generally must be afforded the seniority, status, and pay they would have attained had they remained continuously employed.

USERRA makes clear, however, that its re-employment requirements do not apply if the worker's employment was for a brief, nonrecurrent period, with no reasonable expectation that the employment would have continued indefinitely or for a significant period of time.

Whether a temporary employee is entitled to re-employment with the client with which he or she was previously assigned, therefore, will depend on the nature of the worker's former assignment. If the assignment was reasonably expected to be continuous and for an indefinite period, re-employment with the client would likely be required.

In view of USERRA's strong protections for returning veterans, if an assignment was for a definite period and not continuous, staffing firms still may have to give returning temporary workers priority consideration for future assignments.

Anne Duffy
American Staffing Association

Pennsylvania House to Consider Comprehensive Unemployment Compensation Reform

The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry has issued an alert to its members regarding pending legislation that would reform the state’s unemployment compensation system.

According to the alert, H.B. 916 would help control costs, tighten eligibility requirements to ensure the system is there for those truly in need, and restore solvency to the state’s UC Trust Fund.

Currently, Pennsylvania is second only to California in the amount of UC benefits paid out over the past year, and is third behind California and Michigan in the amount ($3.6 billion) borrowed from the federal government. As the state’s UC Fund continues to pay out more in benefits than it brings in, it is clear that something needs to be done.

If the legislature fails to enact H.B. 916, the fund will still be broke, still have a loan balance of more than $2 billion, and your UC taxes will continue to increase!

This is an issue that affects all businesses, especially staffing firms. Pennsylvania must take steps to restore balance, fairness and sound financial principles to its UC system, and House Bill 916 is a step in the right direction toward achieving these goals.

Contact your state representative TODAY and urge a ‘yes’ vote on House Bill 916