KEYWORD:

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS MEMORANDUM

Date: September 24, 2001
Re: USERRA Update

In light of the announcement last Thursday that up to 50,000 reservists may be called to active duty, and the initial call for 5,131 members of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, employers should review their duties under the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act (USERRA).

USERRA is designed to encourage civilian military service by protecting benefits and employment status during voluntary and involuntary military service. I am enclosing a copy of an article on USERRA published in Business Alabama in June 1999. This article sets out basic obligations under your employee benefit plans. Note that the current military action against terrorism will not be included in the five-year cumulative limit on protected service because it is service performed during time of war or national emergency.

While USERRA has broad coverage, one thing it does not protect is employee pay. An employer is not required to pay reservists and Guard members while they are gone. It is worth noting, though, that in practice many employers offer to pay the difference between the employee's regular compensation and his military pay. Some companies even subsidize the government's obligations by continuing an employee's base salary if the employee gives up the military pay check. Few companies, however, allow the employee to retain both paychecks.

The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve offers additional information about USERRA and assists employers in resolving disputes arising under the act. Its website is www. esgr.org, and the toll-free telephone number is 1-800-336-4590.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the comments in this letter or the attached article.