Service in the Uniformed Services Defined

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Service in the Uniformed Services Defined

Reference Number: MTAS-871
Reviewed Date: 09/04/2026

For purposes of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), “service in the uniformed services” means the performance of duty, voluntarily or involuntarily, under competent authority in a uniformed service.

Service includes:

  • Active duty.
  • Active duty for training.
  • Initial active duty for training.
  • Inactive duty training.
  • Full-time National Guard duty.
  • Certain State active duty lasting 14 days or more.
  • State active duty in response to a national emergency declared by the President.
  • State active duty in response to a major disaster declared by the President under the Stafford Act.
  • Absence from work for an examination to determine fitness for any of the covered types of duty.
  • Funeral honors duty performed by National Guard or Reserve members.
  • Certain duty performed by intermittent personnel of the National Disaster Medical System, including approved training for that service.
  • Absence from employment because of an appointment to serve as intermittent personnel with the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Stafford Act.

The term “uniformed services” includes the Armed Forces; the Army National Guard and Air National Guard when engaged in active duty for training, inactive duty training, or full-time National Guard duty; the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service; and other categories designated by the President in time of war or national emergency. 38 U.S.C. § 4303.

Employees Covered by USERRA
USERRA applies broadly to employees of public and private employers, including cities and towns. Protection is not limited to hourly or nonexempt employees. It may cover executive, managerial, professional, full-time, part-time, temporary, probationary, seasonal, laid-off, and striking employees when they otherwise meet USERRA’s requirements.

USERRA generally does not apply to independent contractors. Whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor is determined under USERRA’s statutory factors, including the degree of the employer’s control over how the work is performed, the worker’s opportunity for profit or loss, investment in equipment or materials, special skill, degree of permanence of the working relationship, and whether the service is integral to the employer’s regular business.

Nondiscrimination and Retaliation
A city may not deny initial employment, reemployment, retention in employment, promotion, or any benefit of employment based on a person’s membership in, application for membership in, performance of service in, application for service in, or obligation for service in the uniformed services.

A city also may not retaliate against a person because the person has exercised a USERRA right, testified or otherwise assisted in a USERRA proceeding, participated in an investigation, or exercised a right provided under USERRA. These protections apply even if the person has not personally performed military service.

Notice of Military Service
An employee, or an appropriate officer of the uniformed service in which the employee will perform service, must provide advance notice of impending military service to the city. Notice may be oral or written. Written notice is advisable because it helps document the leave request and may prevent later misunderstandings, but USERRA does not require written notice.

No advance notice is required when military necessity prevents it or when, under all relevant circumstances, giving notice is impossible or unreasonable. A military-necessity determination is made under Department of Defense regulations.

USERRA does not establish a universal minimum notice period, including a mandatory 30-day requirement. When practical, employees should give the city as much advance notice as possible. A city may encourage written notice and early communication but may not deny USERRA rights because an employee did not give 30 days’ notice when earlier notice was not required or reasonably possible.

Time to Prepare
Military-service leave may include a reasonable period before reporting for service. At a minimum, the employee must have enough time after leaving work to travel safely to the uniformed-service site and arrive fit to perform the service. The reasonable preparation time required will vary according to the length of service, how much notice the employee received, the distance or location of service, and other relevant circumstances.

For example, an employee notified of a near-term deployment may reasonably need time before departure to arrange child care, secure housing or finances, obtain required equipment, or address other essential personal matters. The city should evaluate requests individually, communicate promptly with the employee, and avoid rigid leave practices that conflict with USERRA.


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