Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Improvement Act of 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.