USERRA: Military Employment Rights

Federal law protects your civilian job, seniority, and benefits when you serve. If your employer is not honoring those protections, you have the right to enforce them in federal court.

Is This Your Situation?

Service members, reservists, Guard members, and first responders come to Maher Legal when their civilian employers fail to honor their military employment rights. You may be in the right place if:

  • You returned from a deployment or training period and your employer refused to reemploy you in your former position or a comparable one.
  • Your employer reduced your pay, seniority, or benefits because of your military service or service obligations.
  • You were passed over for a promotion, subjected to discipline, or terminated because of your military service.
  • Your employer is making your service obligations difficult through scheduling conflicts, pressure not to deploy, or hostility toward your Guard or Reserve commitments.
  • You are a police officer, firefighter, paramedic, or other first responder who also serves in the Guard or Reserve and has faced employment consequences because of that service.
  • You are a federal employee whose agency has failed to honor your USERRA reemployment or benefit rights.

What USERRA Requires

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act is a federal law that applies to virtually every employer in the United States, public and private. It requires employers to reemploy service members who leave their civilian jobs to serve in the military, to restore their seniority and benefits as if they had never left, and to protect them from discrimination or retaliation based on their military service or obligations.

USERRA covers members of the Active Duty military, National Guard, and Reserve, as well as individuals who volunteer for service or are involuntarily ordered to active duty. It applies regardless of the size of the employer and regardless of whether the service was voluntary or involuntary.

Employers who fail to comply may be liable for lost wages and benefits, and in cases of willful violation, liquidated damages. Federal courts can order reemployment, award back pay, and impose other relief designed to make the service member whole. USERRA also includes a fee-shifting provision: if a claimant prevails, the employer may be required to pay the claimant’s attorney’s fees.

How We Approach USERRA Cases

Maher Legal has litigated USERRA cases in federal court against police departments, fire departments, municipalities, and private employers. The firm understands how these cases are built, what evidence is needed to establish a USERRA violation, how employers typically defend against these claims, and what the litigation process looks like from investigation through trial and appeal.

John N. Maher has personally experienced the USERRA framework as a plaintiff, having faced employment discrimination related to his own military service. That experience shapes how the firm approaches every USERRA matter it handles, with a direct understanding of what these disputes mean to the individuals involved.

Many of the firm’s USERRA clients are law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics, and other public servants who balance civilian careers with Guard or Reserve commitments. The firm understands the particular dynamics of those employment relationships and the specific pressures that often precede a USERRA dispute.

What the Process Looks Like

Initial Assessment

A USERRA claim begins with an assessment of the facts: what service was performed, what the employer was required to do, and what the employer actually did. Timing matters in these cases. The law sets specific deadlines for reemployment applications and for filing claims. An attorney reviewing a potential USERRA matter will assess whether the statutory requirements have been met and what evidence exists to support the claim.

Administrative Filing

USERRA claimants may, but are not required to, file a complaint with the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service before proceeding to federal court. In some cases involving federal government employers, filing with the Office of Special Counsel may be appropriate. An attorney can advise on whether administrative filing makes sense given the specific employer and circumstances involved.

Federal Court Litigation

USERRA claims are litigated in federal district court. The case proceeds through discovery, motion practice, and ultimately trial if the matter is not resolved. USERRA’s fee-shifting provision means that attorney’s fees are often recoverable if the client prevails.

Appeals

USERRA decisions from federal district courts may be appealed to the relevant United States Court of Appeals. Maher Legal has litigated USERRA matters through the appellate process, including Mueller v. City of Joliet, a published decision in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Representative Matters

Mueller v. City of Joliet, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals (2019)

Maher Legal represented the plaintiff in this published USERRA decision before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The case involved a police officer whose employer failed to honor his reemployment and benefit rights under USERRA. The Seventh Circuit’s decision is part of the body of federal law governing the obligations of public employers toward service members in their workforce.

In addition to this matter, John N. Maher has personally experienced the USERRA framework as a plaintiff, which provides the firm a practical understanding of what these disputes mean beyond the legal framework itself.

See All Representative Matters

Your Service Should Not Cost You Your Career


If your employer has failed to honor your rights under USERRA, federal law gives you the right to seek relief in court. We represent service members, reservists, Guard members, and first responders in USERRA litigation and welcome the opportunity to speak with you about your situation.

Schedule a Consultation

You can also reach us by phone at (708) 468-8155.