Pilot Project on USERRA Claims Ends

A pilot project that allowed federal employees to file claims directly with the Office of Special Counsel under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act has ended and employees bringing complaints under the act now must file first at the Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service. During the demonstration project, the two entities shared responsibility for investigating the claims, which typically arise over agency obligations to reinstate employees returning to federal jobs from periods of active military duty, such as deployed Guard or Reserve service. The procedures now revert to those used under the underlying law, in which if VETS is unable to resolve a federal sector claim, the claimant may request that VETS refer the matter to OSC, which may then represent the claimant before the Merit Systems Protection Board.