Today, the Department of Justice celebrates the 25 th anniversary of the enactment of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, 38 U.S.C. § 4301, et seq. (USERRA). USERRA protects the civilian employment and reemployment rights of members of a uniformed service by prohibiting workplace discrimination on the basis of an individual’s past, present, or future military obligations. USERRA also provides reemployment rights to eligible servicemembers upon their return from uniformed service or training. USERRA is not the first act designed to protect the civilian worklife of our servicemembers and veterans – it traces its history to the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 (Pub. L. 76-783) – but it represents a bipartisan effort by lawmakers to adapt the available protections in an era when our nation relies more heavily on our Reserve and Guard components. Since September 11, 2001, the National Guard and Reserve have performed almost one million activations of guard members and reservists from their civilian lives to active duty military service in support of the global war on terror. Over 38,000 reservists and guard members are on active duty at this moment, protecting the liberties and freedoms that we enjoy.
