Wisconsin Military Service Discrimination (USERRA) Attorneys

What is Military Service Discrimination?

The Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA) prohibits discriminating against an applicant or employee on the basis of membership in the National Guard, a state defense force, or any reserve component of the United States or Wisconsin military forces.

Federal law – the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) – protects service members’ reemployment rights when returning from a period of service in the uniformed services, including those called up from the reserves or National Guard, and prohibits employer discrimination based on military service or any such obligation. USERRA also provides protection for disabled veterans and establishes the cumulative length of time that an individual may be absent from work for military duty and retain their reemployment rights.

What is Not Military Service Discrimination

There is one notable exception under the WFEA: if the applicant or employee has been discharged from military service under a bad conduct, dishonorable, or other than honorable discharge, or under an entry-level separation, and the circumstances of the discharge or separation substantially relate to the circumstances of the particular job or licensed activity.

Employees who are displaced by a returnee from military leave are not protected under the WFEA. Further, it is not unlawful for an employer to require certain documentation of the employee (such as his or her annual schedule of military training dates) in order for the employee to take military leave.