Servicemembers and Veterans Legal Protections Act of 2004

SERVICEMEMBERS AND VETERANS LEGAL PROTECTIONS ACT OF 2004 -- (House of Representatives - October 06, 2004)

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4658) to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to make certain improvements and technical corrections to that Act, as amended.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MCGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4658, the Servicemembers Legal Protection Act of 2004. This important legislation includes a number of provisions intended to enhance and improve the quality of life of our troops, veterans, and military families. Specifically, I would like to address Section 211 of H.R. 4658 that amends the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

Since September 11, 2001, over 400,000 National Guardsmen and Reservists have been placed on active duty. Not since World War II have so many National Guardsmen and Reservist been called to active duty. They and their families face many burdens in service to their country. Their service has taken them away from not only their families, but their jobs as well.

One burden faced by the men and women of the National Guard and Reserves is their employment status upon return from active duty. The uncertainty of their activation and period of time away from their jobs also severely affects their employers, a situation that has been compounded by extended deployments. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has estimated that 70 percent of military reservists called to active-duty work in small or medium-size companies.

In an effort to assist National Guardsmen, Reservists, and their employers, the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) was established to address potential problems arising among the Nation's employers. Trained ESGR employers manage to solve roughly 95 percent of the cases where problems have arisen when a Reserve or Guard member returns to his or her workplace through an informal process-without the Department of Labor having to get involved.

What about the other five percent? According to the ESGR, many of the problems facing this five percent of cases grew out of a lack of understanding of the rights and responsibilities of employers and their returning employees.

In response, I introduced H.R. 4477 with the bipartisan support of U.S. Representative JEB BRADLEY. The Committee on Veterans Affairs incorporated H.R. 4477 into Section 211 of H.R. 4658, the bill the House is considering today. Section 211 is simple and straightforward. It seeks to promote understanding between employees and employers when it comes to their rights and obligations under USERRA. Section 211 would require the Department of Labor to produce a poster-similar to the Family and Medical Leave poster-for employers to post at work sites.

Mr. Speaker, many employers across the country either do not know about USERRA, or they are only vaguely aware of it. By not complying with USERRA, employers put themselves at risk of facing Department of Labor investigations. By educating employers and employees before potential violations, we can protect employers from costly litigation, potential fines, and public embarrassment.

Mr. Speaker, Section 211 would not create additional paper work or burden employers with difficult Department of Labor requirements. In fact, Section 211 is an effort to educate employers and keep them from unknowingly breaking existing law.

Let me briefly share with you how I came to introduce H.R. 4477. I was contacted by a constituent who is a member of the Massachusetts ESGR. He suggested that simply altering USERRA to require its posting would solve many of the problems that he had seen arise between employers and returning Reservists and Guardsmen. He described how many employers are not fully aware of their responsibilities under USERRA, and why many employees are afraid to exercise their rights, even though those rights are protected by USERRA. In posting USERRA and familiarizing themselves with the law, employers and employees will gain a deeper understanding of USERRA and preferably work out any potential conflicts before employees are activated.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman CHRIS SMITH and Ranking Member LANE EVANS of the Committee on Veterans Affairs, as well as Chairman HENRY BROWN and Ranking Member MICHAEL MICHAUD of the Subcommittee on Benefits, for moving forward with H.R. 4658. Their dedication and leadership on issues affecting the well-being of our veterans and uniformed men and women are appreciated and respected by all members of this House, including myself. I would also like to extend my thanks to the staff of the Committee on Veterans Affairs for their hard work on H.R. 4658. In particular, I would like to extend my deep appreciation to Geoffrey Collver of the Democratic Staff of the Committee on Veterans Affairs for working closely with me on Section 211.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge the adoption of H.R. 4658.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT