Please, Help me with my Civilian Employer. They make it very hard on members in the reserves! Any Thoughts?

Thank you very much Sir. I plan on trying to get a hardship transfer back to my old unit in Dallas, but I have to wait until March before I have been at the Houston unit for a full year. Since April, I have had to burn a few vacation days in order to make it to drill. Anything that can help us out would be fantastic.

Thank you for your help Sir! According to ESGR, both situations stated in my original post violate our rights as Reserve and Guard component under USERRA.

For reference in case anyone is wondering or has the same problem in the future:




This information is from Title 20, Chapter IX, Part 1002 - REGULATIONS UNDER THE UNIFORMED SERVICES EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ACT OF 1994
(USERRA).

§1002.18 What status or activity is protected from employer discrimination by USERRA?

An employer must not deny initial employment, reemployment, retention in employment, promotion, or any benefit of employment to an individual on the basis of his or her membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation for service in the uniformed services.

1002.73 Does service in the uniformed services have to be an employee's sole reason for leaving an employment position in order to have USERRA reemployment rights?

No. If absence from a position of employment is necessitated by service in the uniformed services, and the employee otherwise meets the Act's eligibility requirements, he or she has reemployment rights under USERRA, even if the employee uses the absence for other purposes as well. An employee is not required to leave the employment position for the sole purpose of performing service in the uniformed services. For example, if the employee is required to report to an out of State location for military training and he or she spends off-duty time during that assignment moonlighting as a security guard or visiting relatives who live in that State, the employee will not lose reemployment rights simply because he or she used some of the time away from the job to do something other than attend the military training. Also, if an employee receives advance notification of a mobilization order, and leaves his or her employment position in order to prepare for duty, but the mobilization is cancelled, the employee will not lose any reemployment rights.

1002.74 Must the employee begin service in the uniformed services immediately after leaving his or her employment position in order to have USERRA reemployment rights?

No. At a minimum, an employee must have enough time after leaving the employment position to travel safely to the uniformed service site and arrive fit to perform the service. Depending on the specific circumstances, including the duration of service, the amount of notice received, and the location of the service, additional time to rest, or to arrange affairs and report to duty, may be necessitated by reason of service in the uniformed services. The following examples help to explain the issue of the period of time between leaving civilian employment and beginning of service in the uniformed services:

(a) If the employee performs a full overnight shift for the civilian employer and travels directly from the work site to perform a full day of uniformed service, the employee would not be considered fit to perform the uniformed service. An absence from that work shift is necessitated so that the employee can report for uniformed service fit for duty.

(b) If the employee is ordered to perform an extended period of service in the uniformed services, he or she may require a reasonable period of time off from the civilian job to put his or her personal affairs in order, before beginning the service. Taking such time off is also necessitated by the uniformed service.

(c) If the employee leaves a position of employment in order to enlist or otherwise perform service in the uniformed services and, through no fault of his or her own, the beginning date of the service is delayed, this delay does not terminate any reemployment rights.

Below are additional options you may use for resolving your concerns.

1. ESGR can provide the documentation from USERRA that addresses the issue and you can provide this information to the employer.

2. You can open a mediation case with ESGR by filling out the USERRA Assistance request and an ombudsman can contact the employer to assist in mediating concerns and educating employers on the federal law. You can also open a case over the phone by calling [login to see] (option 1).

3. If you feel like mediation wouldn't be successful, you can open a case with the Department of Labor Vets, [login to see] , and they can conduct an investigation on your behalf.

4. Lastly, you have the right to hire a private attorney.

ESGR provides assistance with education, information, and neutral third-party mediation services in order to resolve employee/employer USERRA conflicts. ESGR is not an enforcement agency and does not participate in formal litigation processes.

if they consider your drill weekend your weekend off that's a violation potentially. If they're requiring you to drive after your Friday evening shift with no opportunity to sleep it's borderline. I worked for an employer back in the later 1990s that I had to make arrangements for departing by 2 am Central in order to make formation three hours away in Atlanta with no sleep. I was the CO to so every Saturday I had awakened the evening before and had to go 24 plus hours before sleeping again. It sux. You might find that you need a different employer if this continues for to long a period. Just be safe! Good luck getting answers! And Thank You for serving!

I worked at Boeing (machinist's union) for nearly a year and was in the same boat. Forced OT, worked 2am to 2:30pm, 7 days/week while they graciously gave me the 4th weekend off - which was reserve weekend. When we hit the strike and I saw how the union negotiated on our behalf and how they talked us out of the great contract Boeing offered, I finally quit. Sometimes you have to close the door before another one opens...

:SSgt Keith Barrows you made the right decision I'm sure. It's pretty amazinh especially now just how many civilian jobs a Reserve Service member has to go thru in the course of a reserve career!