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HR.BLR.com Poll Finds Majority of Employers Not Ready for New USERRA RegsOLD SAYBROOK, Conn. --(Business Wire)-- Jan. 17, 2006 -- Only one-third of employers are fully prepared for important new regulations that become effective this week governing the employment and reemployment rights of military service members, according to a poll at HR.BLR.com. Final regulations under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, as amended (USERRA) were issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) in December of 2005. These are the first comprehensive regulations ever issued describing the employment and reemployment rights of military service members under federal law. The final regulations become effective for all employers on January 18, 2006. Asked "How prepared are you for the new USERRA regs that become effective January 18?" just 33 percent of HR.BLR.com visitors responded that they were "Completely prepared" for the regulations. Another 24 percent responded that they were "Somewhat prepared." Meanwhile, over a quarter (26 percent) of respondents said that they didn't know whether they were prepared and 17 percent said they were "Not at all prepared" for the regulations. The early January poll on the Business & Legal Reports (BLR) website drew responses from 324 human resource professionals. Almost half are unsure - or unprepared - for important new USERRA changes "Nearly half of respondents confessed to either not knowing whether they were prepared or being flat out unprepared," said Chris Ceplenski, HR.BLR.com editor. "With the deadline nearing, these results indicate many employers have their work cut out for them to ensure their policies and practices regarding employees serving in the military are in compliance." USERRA Resource Center To help employers understand USERRA's legal requirements, BLR offers a USERRA Resources Center. The Center includes the text of the regulations, a downloadable "USERRA Rights Notification" poster (issued in conjunction with the new regs) as well as news articles, white papers, and sample policies. Visit BLR's USERRA Resources Center at http://hr.blr.com/collection.cfm/collection/9/source/PRS/effort/81 About BLR Old Saybrook, Conn.-based BLR produces plain-English compliance and training resources for HR, compensation, safety, and environmental managers. For more information, call 800-727-5257 or visit www.BLR.com. Keywords: military leave, userra, military service re-employment |
