The Oklahoma Bar Journal February 2025

DISCRIMINATION BASED ON MILITARY SERVICE USERRA prohibits discrimi nation based on an individual’s military service. Specifically, an employer cannot take any action based on a person’s current obliga tions as a member of the uniformed services, prior service in the uni formed services or intent to join the uniformed services. Title 38, United States Code, Chapter 43, §4311 states, “[A] person who is a member of, applies to be a member of, performs, has performed, applies to perform, or has an obligation to perform service in a uniformed service shall not be denied initial employment, reemployment, retention in employ ment, promotion, or any benefit of employment by an employer on the basis of that membership, application for membership, per formance of service, application for service, or obligation.” In addition, when Congress proposed USERRA, it made it clear that any prior case law interpreting the predecessors to USERRA would be applied to current law 17 and noted that previ ous courts had called for a liberal construction of the statute. 18

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.

FEBRUARY 2025 | 21

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL