When you join the military you have a lot of different benefits. One of the benefits for joining the reserves is the knowledge that your position or job in the civilian world is protected if you have to be called to active duty. The law applies for both voluntary and involuntary service in the Reserves and military, as long as the Servicemember meets the criteria, then they are able to realize the protection afforded by the USERRA legislation.
One of the main benefits for a member of the Reserves is knowing that you are guaranteed having a civilian job waiting for them when they are done with their military service. There was a time when being called to military service left a person with the unknown, not sure if they will have a job waiting for them when they leave the military. The right of re employment is extended to all persons who are absent from a position or job, or for some reason absent from their position of employment in the uniformed services. There has been legal protection for some time, but the protection was formalized in the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994. The USERRA was first put into law in 1994, and it was later updated, once in 1998 and before that in 1996. The legislation is good in that it applies to all employment, civilian, state, local and federal government service, and even private employers, regardless of size. In order to have the USERRA legislation apply to you must have five different criteria that must apply to you, you have to tell your employer that you have to leave your job for uniformed service, you have to have had a civilian job or position, you have to have been released under honorable conditions, the period of your service can not have exceeded five years, and after service you have to have report to your employers within a timely period or in a timely manner.
The term, ?Service in the Uniformed Services,? applies to services or duty in any uniformed service, on a voluntary and involuntary basis. This applies to Servicemembers who are: active duty Guard and reserve members who have been activated, inactive duty training, full time Guard and National Guard Duty, active duty for training, funeral duty honors for Reserve or National Guard Members, and Initial active duty for training sessions.
