Bob Filner: “I would like to thank Congressman Mike Coffman of Colorado who is here with us for introducing the National Guard…”

“I would like to thank Congressman Mike Coffman of Colorado who is here with us for introducing the National Guard Employment Protection Act of 2010. One of the protections provided by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA, is to require employers to support a servicemember's absence for up to 5 years if called to active military duty. At the time when USERRA was enacted into law back in 1994, Congress intended to minimize the disruption to the lives of servicemembers as well as to their employers and prohibit discrimination against persons because of their service in the military. Unfortunately, current statute does not provide National Guard members who are ordered to full-time active duty with the same protections. This is especially disheartening at a time when our Guard is called up to active duty in support of missions to secure the homeland or provide relief abroad. And of course since 9/11, the Guard has been doing almost half of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of them are bumping against the 5-year USERRA protection for their civilian jobs, and H.R. 1879 seeks to address this inequity and extend reemployment rights for those ordered to full-time National Guard duty.”