The 5 Qualifications You Must Meet to Receive USERRA Protection

Did you serve in the uniform services? (Includes activation orders)
Were you discharged Honorable, Medical, or Uncharacterized? (Were you deactivated?)
Did you notify your employer prior to performance your uniformed service?
Do your cumulative absences for uniformed service from your current employer exceed 5 years? (Duty time only -- do not include travel or preparation time.)
Do you meet the requirements for timely application?

Below are excerpts from 20 C.F.R Ch. IX (4-1-06 Edition) that you need to know if you are being deployed. For further detail please click the link after the excerpt.

§ 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. 1002.73

§ 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. 1002.74

§ 1002.86 When is the employee excused from giving advance notice of service in the uniformed services?

The employee is required to give advance notice of pending service unless giving such notice is prevented by military necessity, or is otherwise impossible or unreasonable under all the circumstances.

(a) Only a designated authority can make a determination of “military necessity,” and such a determination is not subject to judicial review. Guidelines for defining “military necessity” appear in regulations issued by the Department of Defense at 32 CFR 104.3.

(b) It may be impossible or unreasonable to give advance notice under certain circumstances. Such circumstances may include the unavailability of the employee's employer or the employer's representative, or a requirement that the employee report for uniformed service in an extremely short period of time. 1002.86

§ 1002.87 Is the employee required to get permission from his or her employer before leaving to perform service in the uniformed services?

No. The employee is not required to ask for or get his or her employer's permission to leave to perform service in the uniformed services. The employee is only required to give the employer notice of pending service. 1002.87 (Please reference 1002.86)

§ 1002.88 Is the employee required to tell his or her civilian employer that he or she intends to seek reemployment after completing uniformed service before the employee leaves to perform service in the uniformed services?

No. When the employee leaves the employment position to begin a period of service, he or she is not required to tell the civilian employer that he or she intends to seek reemployment after completing uniformed service. Even if the employee tells the employer before entering or completing uniformed service that he or she does not intend to seek reemployment after completing the uniformed service, the employee does not forfeit the right to reemployment after completing service. 1002.88

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!

Title 20 Part 1001: Service for Veterans Title 20 Part 1002: USERRA regulations