• Employers must follow the protections outlined by USERRA for employee job absences.

Be aware that employees have the protections of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) for voluntary service or required military service. Reemployment rights extend to all persons absent from the job because of “service” which includes service on a voluntary or involuntary basis, and includes the following:

• Active duty,
• Active duty for training,
• Initial active duty for training,
• Inactive duty training,
• Full-time National Guard duty,
• Obtaining an examination to determine the fitness of the person to perform any of the above duties, and
• Funeral honors duty.

USERRA protects employees absent from work for the following reasons:

• Service in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard;
• Service in the Army or Air National Guard during federal authority call-up;
• Attendance at military training, weekend drills, summer camps, or fitness-for-duty examinations; or
• Military funeral honors duty.

In addition, USERRA provides protection for employees serving in the following:

• The Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service,
• The National Disaster Medical System,
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reservists and National Guard members, and
• Any other category designated by the President in time of war or emergency, and.

Members of the National Guard serving on State Active Duty are covered under USERRA if the service is:

• For 14 days or more,
• In support of a national emergency declared by the President under the National Emergencies Act, or
• In support of a major disaster declared by the President under Section 401 of the Stafford Act.