Reemployment Eligibility

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Under USERRA, to have restoration rights, the employee must:

  • Have left his/her job to perform uniformed service
  • Have given the agency advance verbal or written notice of uniformed service (except when the giving of notice is prevented by military circumstances or otherwise impossible or unreasonable)
  • Not have been released from the military with a disqualifying discharge (reemployment rights are terminated if the employee is separated with a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge, separated under "other than honorable conditions" as characterized by regulations of the uniformed service, dismissed, or dropped from the rolls)
  • Serve no more than a cumulative of 5 years in the uniformed service while employed by the Federal government (however, there are numerous exceptions to the 5-year rule, including training and involuntary active duty extensions, to complete an initial service obligation of more than 5 years, service because of a war or national emergency, and for several other specified types of service)
  • Apply for restoration within appropriate time limits (A person who does not report within the specified time limits does not automatically forfeit restoration rights, but is subject to whatever policy and disciplinary action the agency would normally apply for a similar absence without authorization)

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