Special Veteran's Day Coffee Break Edition: Military Compliance & Benefits
In recognition of Veterans Day and November being National Veterans and Military Families Month, Gregory Agron, an attorney at our firm and a proud veteran of the United States Marine Corps, will be sitting down with our labor and employment principal attorney, Jennifer Woo Burns to discuss important topics about military service, veterans’ rights in the workplace, and the legal protections employers should know about. Together, they’ll shed light on these critical issues, sharing insights that matter to both veterans and the employers who support them.
Q: Hello Greg! So glad to have you here with us- could you tell us a little about your military service history?
A: Hi, and yes of course. So, following the events of 9/11 ( I was a senior in high school that year) I enlisted in the United States Marine Corp Infantry, I was selected to be a machine gunner and after completing boot camp and infantry training in Sand Diego, I sailed with the 1st Marine division to Kuwait in February of 03’.
I took part in combat operations during the invasion with the Marine first regimental combat team and after the invasion and operations mostly around Babylon, I returned home in the late fall of 03. After that I returned to Iraq for a second combat deployment with 1st Marines and participated in counter insurgency operations from the early spring of 04’ through that following winter—including the fighting in Najaf, Ramadi, and Fallujah.
I stayed on for a third deployment in 06 before my contract was up and we ended spending some time in Kuwait as a force in reserve for the theater but, didn’t end up going in a third time. That last deployment was mostly training and other low intensity or humanitarian type stuff.
Q: Well, thank you for your service and thank you for your willingness to share some legal aspects of military service that employers should be informed about. First of all, it’s important to note that on a most basic level, veteran status is protected in the employment context, correct?
A: Yes, under both federal and California law, veteran and military status is a specific protected characteristic, so employers may not discriminate based on this status. Specifically, they cannot retaliate against an employee who exercises their rights or protects another’s rights to serve, or who protests unlawful treatment.
And remember, discrimination may take many forms, for example, failing to hire or promote a service member based on the possibility that they may have to miss some work due to a deployment, or subjecting them to harassment, such as derogatory anti-military statements.
Q: What other important obligations do employers have that specifically pertain to their service member employees?
A: Certainly a big issue is military leave. Under USERRA (which stands for Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994), employees who are absent from work due to service in the uniformed services have broad protections, such as guaranteed reinstatement rights for military service leave totaling up to 5 years. Also during the leave, the employee retains seniority as though they continued to work, which affects the employee’s benefits entitlement, retirement plan vesting, and promotional opportunities. These are just a few protections provided under USERRA. Employers also have an obligation to provide written notice of USERRA rights, which they usually do through a workplace posting.
Q: What about for military family members, do they have any special rights?
A: Absolutely. For example, California employers of a certain size must provide at least 10 days off for qualified spouses or registered domestic partners of qualified servicemembers for times when the servicemember will be away on deployment during a period of military conflict.
Also, the Family Medical Leave Act provides covered family members up to 12 workweeks of leave for qualifying exigencies, such as making different day care arrangements for the military member’s children or attending official military events as the family member prepares to deploy. Also under the FMLA, military caregiver leave allows covered employees up to 26 workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to take care of a seriously ill or injured military family member.
Family members should also be aware that the California Paid Family Leave program provides wage replacement benefits for eligible workers taking time off to support a military family member deploying to a foreign country.
Q: Wow, that is a lot of helpful information! What about veterans who are disabled — what additional benefits are available to them?
A: Yes, of course the federal VA system provides medical and psychological care, disability benefits, housing and employment transition assistance, as well as home loan assistance. Also, in California, disability compensation is available through the California Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as property tax and income tax exemptions, pension benefits and even exemptions from sales tax for certain disability-related items. The amount of disability compensation varies based on the severity of the disability.
Q: Since you provide legal advice to employers and you are also a veteran, what would be your best general advice for employers who have employees who are active duty or military veterans?
A: I think Veterans mostly join up as young adults and the military is sort of their first employer, or at least one of their first employers and it leaves a distinct impression on people; the experience of service, I have found, generally makes for good, hard-working employees out in the civilian sector that really have an eye and drive for mission success and strategy.
But employers should also understand that hiring someone that is either active duty or a veteran comes with certain issues and context that they likely need or will need to address and probably haven’t before – like unexpected military deployments or unique disability accommodations.
Q: Greg, we so appreciate this valuable information during this month in which we honor you and all veterans and military servicemembers. Thank you again!
GREG: You bet!
And with a smile and a thumbs up, that’s a wrap for Coffee Break Veteran’s Day edition!