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Military Leave / USERRA

Stay out of court by giving copies of arbitration agreements to employees

05/06/2008
If you aren’t careful, arbitration agreements can leave your company paying more, not less. That can happen when employees file a federal lawsuit regardless of an agreement requiring arbitration. Then the court has to decide whether the arbitration agreement is valid …

Service members’ jobs protected—If actually employed

05/01/2008
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protects members of the armed forces by allowing them to return to their jobs when their service ends. But USERRA has limits, applying only to service members who actually were employees when they went to serve …

Returning soldiers entitled to equivalent jobs, but not necessarily their old ones

05/01/2008
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) is being tested in court, and employers are finding that judges are becoming more flexible when it comes to employers’ rights to manage the work force while soldiers are away …

Ignoring your military pay policy may be costly

05/01/2008
If, like many employers, you honor military service with special pay arrangements for those who serve their country, take note: If you don’t follow your own handbook, you may find a court ready to punish you with big damages …

New state law adds ‘Military status’ to protected classes

05/01/2008
The recently enacted Ohio Veterans Package amends the Ohio Civil Rights Act to bar discrimination based on “military status.” As a result, Ohio employers now face new legal requirements on both the state and federal fronts for how they treat military employees and their families …

USERRA and the choice of paying or not paying for health insurance

04/10/2008
Q. It has been our company’s policy to maintain health insurance coverage for the families of employees who are serving in Iraq. It has recently come to our attention that one such family includes a spouse who is working, and the spouse has declined health insurance coverage at her job because we have been providing it free of charge. I have been asked whether we have an ongoing obligation to provide for this family’s health insurance coverage while our employee is on leave to serve in the military …

How International Conflict Breeds Domestic Employment Laws

03/18/2008
The employment law legislative cycle has played out repeatedly for more than 40 years: Congress acts to protect service members’ rights when they are risking their lives in the field. Often those rights end up spreading to all other workers as well. The result: the Civil Rights Act, the ADA, the FMLA and USERRA.

Labor Department’s proposed FMLA rules tackle military family leave

02/11/2008
The Labor Department’s new proposed FMLA rules address a new kind of FMLA leave—designed to assist family members of active-duty military personnel. Here are the basics of what the new leave involves.

USERRA reinstatement requirements following military leave

01/01/2008

Q. When a manager takes an extended military leave of absence and I am forced to hire a replacement out of business necessity, am I still required to reinstate the manager upon his or her return to work? …

Military spouse on leave? Employee has leave rights, too

12/01/2007

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed California’s new law allowing military spouses to take leave. The law requires some employers to provide up to 10 days of unpaid leave to the spouse of a qualified member of the U.S. armed forces, National Guard or reserves. Here are employer guidelines on exactly how to administer this new entitlement …