Checklist: Re-employment After Military Leave--Entitlement Checklist

The following checklist can help you decide whether a person who's been absent from private or state employment because of military service is eligible for reemployment under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

Use the checklist only for reemployments initiated on or after December 12, 1994. Check off the boxes that apply to the person's or employer's situation. If all the boxes are checked, the person is most likely entitled to reinstatement, as well as to certain employment privileges and benefits.

• The employer is a private entity, a state, or an agency or political subdivision of a state. ("State" includes the District of Columbia or any of the territories of the United States.)
• The person's preservice employment with the employer was for more than a brief, nonrecurrent period and was reasonably expected to continue for a significant length of time.
• There's been no change in the employer's circumstances that would make reemployment impossible or unreasonable.
  
• Check this box if one of the following applies:
  
• Military service that began on or after December 12, 1994: written or oral advance notice of the service was given to the employer by either the person or an appropriate officer of the person's military branch
• Military service that began on or after December 12, 1994: military necessity prevented the giving of advance notice of the service, or the giving of notice was otherwise impossible or unreasonable.
• Military service that began before December 12, 1994: the person was a reservist or National Guard member who provided notice to the employer before leaving work for active duty for training or inactive duty training that began prior to December 12, 1994.
• Military service that began before December 12, 1994: the service was not active duty for training or inactive duty training in the reserves or National Guard.
  
  

The cumulative length of the person's service-connected absences from this employer does not exceed five years. Count all types of service, except for the following:

• Service required beyond five years to complete an initial period of obligated service.
• Service from which a person, through no fault of the person, is unable to obtain a release within the five-year limit.
• Required training for reservists and National Guard members.
• Active duty service (other than for training) during wars or national emergencies or in support of critical or operational missions.
• Any kind of service other than active duty service if reemployment after completion of that service was initiated before December 12, 1994.
• Active duty for training performed by a National Guard member up through December 11, 1994. (However, the remainder of the period of duty that is performed after this date must be counted.)
• Termination of the person's military service was under honorable conditions.

Following military service that ended on or after December 12, 1994, the person timely reported back to work or applied for reemployment as follows:

• Service of 1 to 30 days or absence for a fitness examination: the person reported back to work by the beginning of the first regularly scheduled work day that fell eight hours after the person returned home.
• Service of 31 to 180 days: the person submitted an application for reemployment no later than 14 days after completion of the service. Or, if doing so was impossible or unreasonable, through no fault of the person, the person submitted the application as soon as possible.
• Service of 181 or more days: the person submitted an application for reemployment within 90 days after completing the service.

Check this box if one of the positions below is applicable:

• Return from service of 1 to 90 days: The person is qualified for (a) the job the person would have held if the person had never left for military service; (b) the job the person held prior to leaving for military service, if the person could not become qualified for (a); or (c) any other position that would be the closest approximation (next best) to (a) or (b), if the person could not become qualified for (a) or (b).
• Return from service of 91 or more days: The person is qualified for (a) the job the person would have held if the person had never left for military service, or a position of equivalent status and pay; (b) the person's preservice position, or a position of equivalent seniority, status and pay, if the person could not become qualified for (a); or (c) any other that would be the closest approximation (next best) to (a) or (b), if the person could not become qualified for (a) or (b).
• Persons with service-connected disabilities: The person is qualified or could become qualified with accommodation of the person's disability for (a) the position the person would have held if the person had never left for military service; (b) a position of equivalent seniority, status, and pay, if the person could not become qualified for (a); or (c) a position that, consistent with the circumstances of that person's case, would be the closest approximation (next best) to (b), if the person could not become qualified for (a) or (b).

Check this box if one of the following applies:

• The person is already qualified for reemployment in one of the positions described above, so that efforts to train the person or to accommodate any service-connected disability are unnecessary.
• It would not be an undue hardship (significantly difficult or expensive) to train the person or to accommodate the person's service-connected disability in order to qualify the person for one of the positions described above.