As the baby-boom generation ages and we all become anxious about the Social Security system, employer-sponsored pensions and retirement savings plans become more important. Complicated federal and state laws regulate these vehicles. Contact a knowledgeable pension and benefits attorney for answers to your questions about pensions and other retirement benefits.
Los Angeles Wage and Benefits Attorneys
Helping Southern California Businesses and Residents Understand Employment Law
The attorneys of the Bononi Law Group, LLP, represent employer and employee clients in the greater Los Angeles area in wage and benefits disputes. As you consider or manage the legalities of your legal challenge, you may find the wage and benefits legal details provide below to be helpful.
We have handled hundreds of wage and benefits disputes in our 20-plus years of employment law experience. For further information about wage and benefits law, visit our wage claim page or contact our firm at 1-800-641-5548.
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At the Bononi Law Group, LLP, we combine decades of casework experience with an unmatched reputation in employment law throughout southern California. Our team includes multiple members who are listed as California Super Lawyers and an attorney who has been selected as one of The Best Lawyers in America each year for more than 20 years. For effective legal help, call 1-800-641-5548.
When you enter negotiations or the courtroom you want an experienced litigator at your side. The attorneys of the Bononi Law Group, LLP, are in court weekly and have successfully resolved hundreds of wage, discrimination and FMLA disputes. For effective dispute-resolution legal help, call 1-800-641-5548.
Employment Rights of Military Personnel
US military personnel, including reservists and members of the National Guard, are often called for tours of duty or periods of training during which they must leave their civilian jobs. This raises issues of re-employment and continuation of medical coverage and other employment benefits. An attorney with experience in employment law from Bononi Law Group, LLP in Los Angeles, California, can advise you about your employment rights as a member of the armed services.
The federal Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Act (USERRA) creates re-employment and continuing-benefit rights for military personnel. USERRA applies to private employers, and to state and local government employers. With some variation, employees of the federal government are also protected.
You can lose your USERRA rights if your military service was under less than honorable conditions.
Re-employment
With a few exceptions, military service members are guaranteed re-employment in their civilian jobs after returning from active duty or training. In certain situations, such as the elimination of your job or a difficult employer circumstance, you may be placed in a different but comparable job with similar salary and benefits.
Service members must give appropriate notices of military deployment to their employers and must reapply for their jobs within specific time frames. If an employee incurs or aggravates a disability during a military leave, USERRA has detailed employer requirements for disability accommodation and retraining.
Other major provisions:
- You have the right to use accrued vacation during your military leave, but you cannot be forced to do so.
- With some exceptions, you can be deployed up to five years before you lose your right to re-employment.
- If you were deployed 181 days or more, your employer cannot fire you after re-employment for at least one year without appropriate cause.
- A long military absence can cause a loss of job skills and you may be entitled to additional training.
Medical Insurance and Other Benefits
Under USERRA, if military leave would result in the termination of an employee's health coverage, the employer must allow the employee to continue coverage at his or her own cost, usually for up to 24 months. This normally includes not only medical coverage, but also vision, dental and prescription coverage, and certain other flexible payment and reimbursement arrangements. With some exception, similar rights to continued coverage during military leave are preserved by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA).
Upon your return, you again have the right to medical coverage from your employer, without waiting periods or pre-existing condition exclusions. Your employer is not required to cover medical injury or illness sustained in active duty, but service-related health problems are normally covered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Pension rights and vacation should continue to accrue during military-service leaves. Similarly your vesting and accrual rights under certain retirement plans should not be interrupted. Military leave should count toward time worked for purposes of your right to family and medical leave.
Conclusion
In general, these are your rights under federal law. You may have additional benefits under your particular state's laws or your employer may offer more generous terms.
If you are a service member facing re-employment problems or issues with your employee benefits after a period of active duty, you may have legal remedies under federal or state law. An employee benefits lawyer at Bononi Law Group, LLP in Los Angeles, California, can advise you about all of your rights under the law.
