Since 1994, municipalities have been required to protect military service members from discrimination in employment under the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

In April 2021, the Oklahoma Legislature adopted a state-level USERRA, commonly referred to as the OK USERRA, which is very similar to the federal USERRA but instead protects members of the State military forces (National Guard, Civil Air Patrol, Oklahoma State Guard, Military Court of Appeals, and any other military force organized under the Constitution and laws of the State of Oklahoma), when they have been activated by the Oklahoma Governor.

The OK USERRA generally prohibits discrimination against members of state military forces listed above and requires municipalities to reemploy such members under certain circumstances that are rather fact-intensive. Additionally, the OK USERRA requires municipalities to:

adopt USERRA compliance procedures;
report to the state legislature on an annual basis if military service members were not rehired under applicable exemptions, and
train human resource personnel on the rights, benefits, and obligations of the OK USERRA.

Finally, under both the federal and OK USERRA, a poster that provides a summary of employee rights is required to be posted in a location where such employment notices are normally posted. This poster is located on the U.S. Department of Labor website and can be printed free of charge to you, and the federal USERRA poster sufficiently meets the requirement of the OK USERRA.

If you have any questions on the OK USERRA, or any other employment matter, please contact attorneys@omag.org