On September 9, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) reintroduced the Wounded Veteran Job Security Act (H.R. 2875), legislation that would amend the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) to prohibit acts of discrimination and reprisal against an employee who is absent from work to receive medical treatment for a service-connected illness, injury or disability. Specifically, this bill would expand the definition of “service in the uniformed services” to include the time “for which a person is absent from a position of employment for the purposes of obtaining medical treatment for an injury or illness recognized by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs as a service-connected, or for which a ‘line of duty’ document has been granted by the Secretary of Defense.” This amendment would therefore permit veterans on such leave to, among other things:

• Return to their jobs following leave, and be entitled to seniority and other rights and benefits determined by seniority while on leave;


• Be entitled to any other rights or benefits ordinarily provided to other employees who are on furlough or other leaves of absence;


• Be protected from acts of discrimination or reprisal for taking such leave.

Upon an employer’s request, employees must provide documentation to establish their eligibility for reemployment under USERRA. This application must “include sufficient documentation to establish a link between the injury or illness and the medical treatment the person obtained.”

In a press release, Rep. Doggett claimed that under current law, “a veteran who exhausts his sick leave does not have adequate protections to get the help needed . . .The needs of those in uniform do not end on the battlefield, and neither should our obligation to them.”

The House passed similar legislation in June of 2009, but the bill failed to advance.

by Ilyse Schuman