The Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service has issued Opinion Letter USERRA-2026-1, which addresses a 2025 amendment to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. It is the first numbered USERRA opinion letter issued under DOL-VETS’s opinion-letter program.
Congress amended USERRA in 2025 to prohibit employers from taking “other retaliatory action” against individuals exercising USERRA rights, in addition to the existing prohibitions on discrimination or adverse employment actions.
DOL-VETS interprets the amendment as adopting the retaliation standard that the Supreme Court established under Title VII in Burlington Northern v. White. Under that standard, retaliation may include conduct that could dissuade a reasonable person from exercising protected rights, even if it does not affect the terms or conditions of employment.
The opinion letter confirms that USERRA’s retaliation provision can reach conduct outside traditional employment actions.
Click here to read more from the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association.