Mar 7, 2015 | Organizing |
With the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, more and more reservists are being called to active duty. Today, because of dramatic reduction of military personnel during the 1990s, nearly half of U.S. military Members are reservists, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Some reservists may be on active duty for six months or longer and are unsure of their rights concerning their job and benefits.
The federal Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act (USERRA) establishes the rights of reservists and the National Guard to return to work at the end of their service. The USERRA applies to all employers regardless of their size and protects those serving in the U.S. reserve forces of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the National Guard.
While on active duty, employees must receive all benefits available to other employees on comparable leaves of absence. Employees also may use accrued vacation while on leave but cannot be forced to do so.
If you are a permanent employee, the USERRA requires employers to reinstate you to your former job after active duty or to a comparable position with the same status, seniority and pay. To be eligible for reinstatement, you must:
- Give advance notice prior to leaving;
- Be on active duty for less than five years (excluding certain service required by a declared war or national emergency);
- Not be dishonorably discharged or separated under other than honorable conditions; and
- Report back to work in a timely manner after discharge.
When you return to work, you are entitled to the same status, pay and benefits as you would have received had you not gone into active duty. If you cannot perform the job, your employer must use reasonable efforts, such as training, to enable you to upgrade or refresh your skills to become qualified for that position.
Although federal law guarantees reservists and the national guard their jobs, it does not require employers to continue to keep paying for health insurance. Some large companies keep paying the insurance for reservists and the National Guard, but many small companies do not. If you are a reservist or National Guard member who loses health care insurance, you can pay for health care insurance under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), which provides health coverage continuation rights to employees and their families after an event such as reduction in employment hours. If your military service is for 30 or fewer days, you and your family can continue coverage at the same cost as before your service. If military service is longer, you and your family may be required to pay as much as 102 percent of the full premium for coverage.
You also may pay for the care yourself or use Tricare, a Defense Department agency that provides insurance for Members of the military. However, only 40 percent of hospitals and 30 percent of doctors nationwide accept Tricare, according to the Defense Department.
Your employer cannot consider your time on active duty as a break in employment for pension benefit purposes, and your military service must be considered service with an employer for vesting and benefit purposes.
The law does not require employers to pay a worker on active duty, but many employers do pay the difference between a worker’s regular salary and his or her military pay.
A Federal employee who is a member of the National Guard or Reserves is entitled to 15 days (120 hours) of paid military leave under 5 U.S.C. 6323(a) each fiscal year for active duty, active duty training, or inactive duty training. An employee on military leave under section 6323(a) receives his or her full civilian salary, as well as military pay. This leave accrues at the beginning of each fiscal year, and all Guard or Reserve Members, including those on extended active duty, should be credited with 15 days of paid military leave on October 1 of each year.
You also can find more information on:
National Mental Health Association tip sheet for reservists returning home from active duty to their civilian jobs.
Benefits for reservists.
Re-employment rights of merchant seamen.
Reservists’ rights to health care.
Tax relief for civilian mariners.
Mar 7, 2015 | Organizing |
It shouldn’t hurt to go to work. But in 2004, more than 12,000 workers were injured or made ill on the job every single day—and that doesn’t include the estimated 50,000 to 60,000 workers who died from occupational diseases.
Experts agree that if you are injured on the job, you should:
- Notify your supervisor, the personnel department and your Union steward.
- Get the medical treatment you need. You may be required to see a doctor selected by your employer. If you are injured on the job, your employer’s insurance company is obligated to pay for reasonable and necessary medical treatment.
- If your employer has written an “incident report,” get a copy of it. Your Union steward and the employer should obtain the names of workers who witnessed your injury or assisted you afterward, as you may need this information if you seek workers’ compensation benefits.
You also may be entitled to temporary or permanent disability benefits or vocational rehabilitation benefits. If you file a claim for benefits and it is rejected, you may appeal the ruling, even to the courts. Experts recommend seeking legal advice.
The U.S. Department of Labor advises that private-sector and state and local government workers injured on the job should contact their state workers’ compensation board. The department’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs also has specific information for federal workers, coal mine workers and longshore and harbor workers.
For more information on the Web, visit these sites for basic information and links:
The AFL-CIO Workers’ Compensation site.
The AFL-CIO’s compilation of workers’ compensation links, including state agencies.
The Center to Protect Workers’ Rights site of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department, with information about the center’s safety and health resources.
For information about state workers’ compensation laws and to connect with the state agencies, see:
State Workers’ Compensation Divisions on AFSCME’s website.
In addition, several state-based injured workers’ groups have websites, including:
Maine Injured Workers Association.
Oregon Injured Workers United.
Injured Workers Association of Utah.
Sadly, many employers will attempt to blame accidents and injuries on the victim. Sometimes employers will threaten discipline. This is insane, and the best way to assure fairness in event of an injury on the job is to have an airline workers union. If you are an airline worker who belongs to an airline workers union, contact your shop steward as soon as possible after addressing immediate medical needs.
Mar 7, 2015 | Organizing |
You deserve to be paid fairly for your work, including overtime hours.
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires that employees, unless specifically exempted—such as managers, certain sales employees and professionals—must be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours in a week. The overtime rate must be one-and-one-half times your normal rate of pay. The FLSA also prohibits the overtime requirement from being waived, even by agreement of the employer and employee. Or more simply put, it is illegal for your boss to force or intimidate you into giving up your overtime pay, although a recent Supreme Court decision limited this condition for government employees.
The law does not set any limits on the number of hours workers older than 16 years can work during a week.
The overtime law is enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. Your employer can be criminally charged for violating the overtime provisions of the FLSA, and it also is illegal for your employer to fire or discriminate against you for filing a complaint about an FLSA overtime violation.
There is a two-year statute of limitations on recovering back pay, unless the FLSA violation was deliberate and willful, in which case the statute of limitations is three years.
If you think you have been denied overtime pay, you can file a complaint with the nearest office of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. The complaint may be filed in person, by letter or by telephone, but it also must be made in writing. For information about various wage-and-hour and other workplace problems, visit the Interstate Labor Standards Association website.
Mar 7, 2015 | Organizing |
Sexual harassment is illegal and no worker has to tolerate it. In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized sexual harassment as a form of illegal sex discrimination.
Sexual harassment is unwanted verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
- You must submit to this behavior to keep your job or to get a promotion, a good job assignment or some other job benefit; or
- This behavior unreasonably interferes with your work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.
Examples of sexual harassment include pressure for sexual favors; pornographic material left on your desk or work area; touching, “goosing,” patting, hugging; leaning against; leering, whistling, catcalls or howling; using demeaning terms such as “sweetheart,” babe” or “honey”; sexual teasing and jokes; posting cartoons, posters or drawings of a sexual or insulting nature; asking personal questions, telling lies or spreading rumors about your social or sex life; making sexual remarks or gestures; and actual or attempted sexual assault.
An employer has the legal responsibility to investigate sexual harassment complaints and to take appropriate actions to end the harassment and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
You are not required to complain to the person who is harassing you. But you should make sure that you, your Union if you have one or someone you designate lets management know about your complaint. You also should keep a written record of the harassment incidents and evidence of your job performance. If your employer has an internal complaint procedure, you are required to use it.
If you have been the victim of sexual harassment and discrimination, you may choose to find recourse in legal action.
If you think you have been sexually harassed, you may file employment discrimination charges as an individual or as part of a group (known as “class action”) with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The charges must be filed within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory act. If you are represented by a Union, contact your Union steward, who can help you file charges. Federal employees must file discrimination charges within their own agency.
You can file a charge in person, by mail or by calling the EEOC at 800-669-4000 for more information (800-669-6820 for the hearing impaired). All charges must include:
- Your name, address and telephone number.
- Your job title.
- A brief description of the problem.
- When the incident or incidents occurred.
- And the type of discrimination you encountered.
For more information, visit the EEOC question-and-answer page about discrimination, as well as these helpful sites:
What to Do if You or Someone You Know is Sexually Harassed from the Feminist Majority Foundation website.
U.S. Department of Education Sexual Harassment Guidance, covering sexual harassment in education programs.
