Employers should be aware the federal law that protects veterans and service members has been amended by a new law, making the stakes higher.
The Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act was enacted early in 2025. As a result, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994 changed.
Here are the details.
Under USERRA, employers are prohibited from discriminating against or retaliating against current uniformed service members or veterans. Among the other provisions of USERRA, employees who leave their jobs to perform military service must be allowed to continue their employer-provided health plan coverage.
The 2025 law takes steps to improve the reemployment rights of members of the armed forces.
For example, the Dole Act removes the phrase “encourage noncareer service in the uniformed services” from USERRA, replacing it with “encourage service in the uniformed services.”
Next, the new law inserts the phrase “or other retaliatory action” into the anti-retaliation section of USERRA. So now, USERRA prohibits employers from taking any adverse employment action or other retaliatory action against employees for exercising their rights under the law.
In other words, veterans and service members will have an easier time from a legal standpoint proving retaliation.
Another high-impact change is the determination of liquidated damages:
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