The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Finds that Compensation is a Benefit Payable to Reservists if an Employer Offers that Benefit for Comparable Leave | Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C.

“Those who serve in the military also need to balance civilian life, including time lost from a civilian job.”

On August 19, 2021, the US Third District Court of Appeals made a ruling that interpreted the benefits of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA” or “the Act”) as providing compensation in certain circumstances lock in. It states: “The best reading of USERRA instructs employers to grant the benefit of compensation if they choose to pay other workers comparable forms of vacation.”

The court overturned the dismissal of a complaint by a US Navy reservist Gerard Travers by a lower court. Travers worked for Federal Express and handled his reserve duties while on leave. During this leave of absence, Federal Express did not pay him, unlike other employees who stayed off work because of jury duties, illness, and death. The dismissal of the district court resulted from the finding that the USERAA does not grant “paid vacation” as “right and advantage”.

Congress has declared USERRA “broadest protection” [to service members] still in force ”, and the opinion of the Third Circle represents a comprehensive review of the law and defines the parameters of the benefits granted to service members. The court describes the long history of USERRA and its predecessor acts (Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, The Selective Service Act of 1948, Universal Military Training and Service Act (1951), and the Veteran’s Reemployment Rights Act of 1974 (USERRA’s immediate predecessor). ).

The Court then applies the rules of legal interpretation to two provisions of USERRA: (1) Section 4316 (b) (1) “Workers who take military leave are entitled to receive the ‘other rights and benefits’ that are theirs Employers grant workers who leave similar types of; and (2) Section 4303 (2) which defines these “Other Rights and Advantages”.

The Court interprets Section 4316 (b) (1) as requiring that workers taking leave from their jobs must receive the same rights and benefits as those granted to workers absent for other reasons. Travers argued that he was entitled to continue receiving wages while absent from work for military service. Federal Express replied that it had not given anyone “paid military leave.” It only provides payment for “certain certain types of absence from work, such as being away from work. Instead, it compared employee “rights and perks” offered to an employee who is absent from work on the “reason for serving in the uniformed service” to an employee who is “of similar seniority, similar status and has a similar salary that is… on leave ”. It is a court-simplified comparison of workers who are “absent” – “Group 1 for military service, Group 2 for everything else”. The court concluded that Section 4316 (b) (1) provides Travers with a right to be paid while on vacation.

Next, in section 4303 (2), the court found that “Congress has enacted a broad definition that includes a wide range of illustrated benefits that is not exhausted by a list of examples”. The conclusion of the court is therefore that “rights and benefits” in the context of USERRA include “payment during vacation”. The court overturned and dismissed Federal Express’s motion for dismissal by the District Court.

USERRA’s job security guarantees include compensation while the reservist is on vacation, according to Third Circuit. Failure to comply with the law can result in a complaint to the federal government or, as in this case, legal action. Accordingly, employers should immediately review their vacation policies, both paid and unpaid, to ensure that their military vacation policies and procedures are consistent with the Third Circle’s interpretation of USERRA reservist rights.