Federal Employment Law

USERRA and VEOA Lawyers

Our USERRA and VEOA lawyers represent federal employees nationwide before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and other federal agencies. It is important to know your rights under these laws should issues arise in the federal workplace. Our USERRA lawyers and VEOA lawyers work to defend those current and former military personnel that have served us.

When someone performs uniformed military service, certain protections are granted when it comes to their seeking and performance of civilian federal employment afterwards. Two important sources of protection for veterans are the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA). Through these laws, veterans are provided with certain rights when it comes to civilian employment and the means to take action should such rights be violated.

What is USERRA?

USERRA is a federal law that protects military service members and veterans from employment discrimination on the basis of their service, allows them to regain their civilian jobs following a period of uniformed service, and ensures that they are not disadvantaged in their civilian careers because of their military service. USERRA a​pplies to members of the Armed Forces, Reserves, National Guard, and other “Uniformed Services” (including the National Disaster Medical System and the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service).

What is VEOA?

VEOA is a federal law that provides certain federal employees and applicants with a means of redress in the event that a federal executive agency violates the employee’s or applicant’s veterans’ preference rights. The Office of Personnel Management’s VetGuide provides a comprehensive list of campaigns and expeditions which qualify for veterans’ preference. The law covers any violation of an individual’s rights under any statute or regulation relating to veterans’ preference. In some cases, it can be difficult to determine what statues and regulations relate to veterans’ preference. Some common examples of veterans’ preference rights include:

1. The application of preference for a veteran candidate over other applicants for federal civil service jobs.
2. Veterans are protected from being laid off during reductions in force (RIFs).
3. Veterans may be considered for special noncompetitive appointments that only they are eligible for.

How to File a USERRA or VEOA Claim

A federal employee claiming a federal agency violation of USERRA may file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), who will investigate the complaint and attempt to resolve it if the DOL investigation reveals that the federal agency may have committed a violation of USERRA. Federal employees who believe their USERRA rights have been violated by an agency may alternatively (and often preferred) file an appeal directly with the MSPB. However, if the federal employee first files a USERRA appeal with DOL, she/he may not file a USERRA appeal with the MSPB until DOL notifies them that they were unable to resolve their complaint. While there is generally no statute of limitations on USERRA claims, it is important to file them as soon as possible because those filed more recently will generally be viewed more credibly.

The VEOA complaint process varies from the USERRA process. Before an individual can file a VEOA appeal with the MSPB, she/he must first file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor. Importantly, this process differs from USERRA because under USERRA, the individual has the option to go straight to the MSPB. After filing a complaint with the Secretary of Labor, an individual can pursue the case at the MSPB once one of two things happens:

1. 60 days pass after filing the complaint with the Secretary of Labor if the Secretary of Labor has not resolved the complaint, even if no decision has yet been made; OR
2. The individual receives written notification from the Secretary of Labor that the Secretary has been unable to resolve the complaint. Under this second option, the individual must file with the MSPB within 15 days of receiving the letter from the Secretary of Labor.

It is also important to keep in mind that unlike with USERRA, there is a deadline for filing a VEOA complaint with the Secretary of Labor. A VEOA complaint must be filed with the Secretary of Labor within 60 days of the VEOA violation. it is important to retain legal counsel on these claims as strategy varies from case to case.

Examples of USERRA and VEOA Violations

1. USERRA: A federal employee has military orders to join her military unit and the deployment comes at an inconvenient time for the agency or supervisor. As a result, the supervisor takes direct or indirect action to discipline the federal employee;
2. USERRA: A federal employee returns from military deployment and is given a lower-paying or lower-graded position upon return from military service;
3. USERRA: A federal employee is terminated in their probationary period because their supervisor finds out that they will be out of the office for some time on deployment and wants to hire someone else without the obligation;
4. USERRA: A federal employee is disciplined as a result of raising military service issues with a manager;
5. VEOA: A preference eligible veteran is not provided with the correct amount of veterans’ preference points during an application process;
6. VEOA: An Agency retains a non preference eligible employee during a RIF but reassigns the preference eligible veteran without proper justification; or
7. VEOA: An employee is denied the right to compete for a position where the Agency is considering individuals outside its own workforce under merit promotion procedures.

Remedies for USERRA or VEOA Violations

If successful in an MSPB case based on either USERRA or VEOA, the following types of remedies are often available:

1. Correction of any unlawful employment action taken or not taken (USERRA);
2. Ordering the Agency to comply with the statute or regulation that was violated (VEOA);
3. Repayment of any loss of wages or backpay (both USERRA and VEOA); and
4. The award to a federal employee of reasonable attorney’s fees, expert witness fees, and other litigation expenses (both USERRA and VEOA).

Contact Us

Our law firm represents and advises federal employees in USERRA and VEOA appeals. If you need legal assistance regarding a USERRA or VEOA claim or another employment matter, please contact our office at (703) 668-0070 or at www.berrylegal.com to schedule a consultation.