California Military Leave Lawyers

In California, employees who serve in the military are entitled to certain rights and protections around military leave, encompassing both state laws, federal laws, and family, medical, and disability leave lawyers. These protections help employees fulfill their service commitments without unnecessarily sacrificing their civilian employment.

Depending on the circumstances, these protections can apply to active service, reserve obligations, military training, and other qualifying periods of service. Employees should understand both federal and state requirements because the rights and responsibilities of an employee and employer can vary depending on the type and length of service.

Federal Laws

• Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA): Applies nationwide, protecting the employment and reemployment rights of individuals who voluntarily or involuntarily leave civilian employment for qualifying service in the uniformed services. USERRA generally requires an employer to reemploy eligible service members after they return from qualifying duty, provided applicable requirements are met. Depending on the circumstances, employees may be entitled to the seniority, status, pay, and other rights and benefits they would have attained if they had remained continuously employed.
• Protection Against Discrimination: USERRA also prohibits employment discrimination based on past, present, or future service obligations. An employer generally cannot deny initial employment, reemployment, retention, promotion, or certain employment benefits because of an individual’s qualifying service or obligation.

California State Laws

• California Military and Veterans Code: The California Military and Veterans Code provides state-level protections that complement federal USERRA rights. The code contains provisions concerning employment protections, leave, discrimination, and reemployment for qualifying members of the Armed Forces, National Guard, reserves, and state military forces, depending on the circumstances.
• Leave of Absence: Qualifying employees may be entitled to a leave of absence for service or duty without suffering unlawful discrimination in their civilian employment. The protections applicable to different military leaves can depend on the nature of the employee’s service and the particular state or federal law involved.
• Reemployment Rights: State law provides reemployment protections to qualifying employees who complete their service and comply with applicable requirements for returning to work. Depending on the circumstances, these protections may preserve seniority, rights, and benefits that would have accrued during the employee’s absence.
• Discrimination Protections: California law prohibits certain forms of discrimination against employees and applicants because of their membership in or service with qualifying armed forces. An employer should not take an adverse employment action simply because an employee has qualifying service obligations.

Military Duty, Training, and Leave Protections

Employee protections are not necessarily limited to long periods of active service. Depending on the applicable law, protected absences may include certain periods of active duty, reserve obligations, National Guard service, drills, and other qualifying service.

An employee called to military duty should provide advance notice to the employer when required and when notice is possible. Different notice and return-to-work requirements may apply depending on the circumstances and duration of service.

The California Military and Veterans Code and federal law may provide overlapping protections. Employees should review the requirements that apply to their particular type of service before and after taking military leave.

Rights Upon Return from Military Leave

Employees returning from qualifying service may have important reemployment rights under federal and state law. These protections can include reinstatement to the position the employee would have attained with reasonable certainty if continuous employment had not been interrupted by service, or another position required by applicable law.

Employees generally must comply with applicable reporting or reemployment application deadlines following completion of their duty. The deadline can vary based on the length and circumstances of the service.

USERRA can also provide qualifying returning service members with protection from discharge without cause for a specified period after reemployment, depending on the duration of service.

Differential Pay and Benefits

• Some private employers may voluntarily offer differential pay to employees serving in the armed forces, which can help cover the difference between service pay and civilian wages. Separate requirements may apply to certain public employees.
• Employees may also have rights concerning health-plan coverage while away from their civilian jobs. The applicable protections and employee costs can depend on the length of the absence and the law governing the leave.
• USERRA also contains protections concerning pension and retirement benefits. Qualifying periods of service generally must be treated as continuous employment for certain pension purposes when the statutory requirements are satisfied.

When Should You Contact Military Leave Lawyers?

Employees should consider seeking legal guidance if they believe their employment rights were violated because of service obligations. For example, it may be appropriate to contact a legal professional if an employee is denied qualifying leave, refused reemployment, demoted, terminated, or otherwise treated adversely because of protected service.

An employee may also want to contact an employment lawyer when there is a dispute about seniority, benefits, reinstatement, or an employer’s obligations under USERRA or the California Military and Veterans Code.

Depending on the circumstances, employees may be able to seek assistance through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) or another appropriate state or federal agency.

California’s laws, together with federal protections, help ensure that individuals who serve their country can fulfill qualifying service obligations without unlawfully losing their civilian employment rights, seniority, or benefits.