Trying To Protect Returning Vets' Jobs, Pay: US Senator In Nyack

NYACK, NY — In observance of Veterans Day, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, visited American Legion Post 310 on Friday. She talked to members and held a press conference about two bills now before the Senate that would boost federal employment of veterans and protect the ability of veterans and service members to access justice by allowing them to exercise their right to be heard in court.

That second piece of legislation would fix a new, sneaky way some employers are avoiding having to give vets who return to their job after military duty the same status, pay or benefits (to which they are entitled by law).

• The Empowering Federal Employment for Veterans Act of 2017, which would make permanent and expand recent initiatives to improve veteran hiring practices in the 24 largest departments and agencies.
• The Justice for Service members and Veterans Act of 2017, would clarify and strengthen the rights of service members under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). Under USERRA, if an employer does not offer the same pay, benefits or status when a service member comes back from military duty, the service member can hold the employer accountable for these violations in court. However, some service members have been unable to exercise their USERRA rights due to the increased use of forced arbitration clauses buried in the fine print of employment contracts. The Justice for Service members and Veterans Act of 2017 gives service members the ability to pursue their USERRA claims in court without sacrificing the option to seek an arbitration agreement after a dispute arises.