The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) applies to persons who perform duty, voluntarily or involuntarily, in the "uniformed services," which include the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Public Health Service commissioned corps, as well as the reserve components of each of these services and federal training or service in the Army National Guard and Air National Guard. Uniformed service includes active duty, active duty for training, inactive duty training (such as drills), initial active duty training, and funeral honors duty performed by National Guard and reserve members, as well as the period for which a person is absent from a position of employment for the purpose of an examination to determine fitness to perform any such duty.

An employer must reemploy service members returning from a period of service in the uniformed services if those service members meet five criteria:

• The person must have held a civilian job;
• The person must have given notice to the employer that he or she was leaving the job for service in the uniformed services, unless giving notice was precluded by military necessity or otherwise impossible or unreasonable;
• The period of service must not have exceeded five years;
• The person must not have been released from service under dishonorable or other punitive conditions; and
• The person must have reported back to the civilian job in a timely manner or have submitted a timely application for reemployment.

USERRA guarantees pension plan benefits that accrued during military service, regardless of whether the plan is a defined benefit plan or a defined contribution plan and provides health benefits continuation for service members and their families during military service for up to 18 months. USERRA prohibits employment discrimination against a person on the basis of past military service, current military obligations, or an intent to serve.

A court may order an employer to compensate a prevailing claimant for lost wages or benefits and USERRA allows for liquidated damages for "willful" violations.

• http://www.dol.gov/asp/programs/handbook/userra.htm
• http://www.dol.gov/vets
• http://www.dol.gov/vets/whatsnew/uguide.pdf