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Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) adopted regulations
under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act (“USERRA”)
that had been proposed back in 2004. The regulations become effective
January 18, 2006. For the most part, the regulations do not impose any
new obligations on employers; rather, they provide clarification and
guidance on existing obligations under the federal law. However, the
regulations do extend the rights guaranteed under USERRA to certain
types of services performed for the National Disaster Medical System.
All employers,
regardless of size, are already required to have posted a notice of
rights under USERRA. Because of this change under the final DOL
regulations, however, there is a slight change to the required poster.
All employers need to have the new notice posted by January 18, 2006.
A free copy of the
updated poster can be found and printed at
http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/USERRA_Private.pdf, or
employers can call the DOL at 1-866-487-2365 and request a free copy. A
number of private companies also sell copies of this updated poster,
consolidated with all other posters that the DOL requires that employers
post. It appears that the only material change from the old poster to
the new is the addition of the phrase “or certain types of service in
the National Disaster Medical System” in the sentence just beneath the
title of the poster.
All employers should
update their USERRA posting as soon as possible. If you have any
further questions about USERRA or the rights guaranteed to individuals
under it, please contact Bryn
Wilson at
bwilson@poynerspruill.com or 783-1117 or
Susie Gibbons at
sgibbons@poynerspruill.com or 783-2813.
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