S. 3445 · 114th Congress
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Improvement Act of 2016
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 114th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
BlumenthalSponsor3 cosponsors · 3 D
3 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Improvement Act of 2016
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Sep 28, 2016
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Improvement Act of 2016
This bill revises the enforcement of employment and reemployment rights of members of the Armed Forces with respect to state and private employers.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) may initiate an action for relief: (1) with respect to a private or a state employer, and (2) when a state or private employer is engaged in a pattern or practice to infringe upon such rights.
A person may bring an action against a state (as an employer), state instrumentality, or state officer or employee acting in his or her official capacity in U.S. district court or state court. The state, instrumentality, officer, or employee shall not be immune from such action under the Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution or under any doctrine of sovereign immunity. No such state, instrumentality, officer, or employee that receives or uses federal financial assistance for a program or activity shall be immune under the Eleventh Amendment or under any other doctrine of sovereign immunity from suit in federal or state court for any violation of such rights related to such program or activity. (Currently, a person may bring such an action against a state only in a state court.)
The venue for an action against a private employer is expanded to include: (1) any district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred; or (2) any district in which the employer is subject to the court's personal jurisdiction with respect to such action if there is no district in which an action may otherwise be brought.
DOJ may issue civil investigative demands.
Service-related disability coverage is extended to include a disability that is brought to the employer's attention within five years after the person resumes employment.
The bill provides that the employer has the burden of identifying the appropriate reemployment positions.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Improvement Act of 2016
Latest action (Sep 28, 2016): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Sep 28, 2016
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.