§4315 — Title 38 Veterans' Benefits | U.S. Code

§4315 Reemployment by certain Federal agencies

Title 38 › Part PART III— - READJUSTMENT AND RELATED BENEFITS › Chapter CHAPTER 43— - EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS AND LIMITATIONS; PROHIBITIONS › § 4315

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Heads of certain covered federal agencies must create rules to make sure employees keep the rights the law gives them. The rules should, as much as possible, let people who leave for military service come back to their old jobs in a way similar to the usual federal reemployment rules. Each agency must name an official who can decide if bringing someone back to that agency is impossible or unreasonable. If the official decides it is impossible or unreasonable, they must tell the person and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. That decision cannot be taken to court. Each agency head must send a yearly report to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs listing how many such decisions were made and why. These rules do not free the agencies from other parts of the law. Employees may ask the Secretary for help or information about reemployment or other federal jobs, and agencies may work with the Secretary or the OPM Director. If a person left one of these agencies for service, the agency found reemployment impossible or unreasonable, and the person applies to the OPM Director, the OPM Director must try to offer them a job in a federal executive agency.

Title 38, §4315

Veterans' Benefits — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The head of each agency referred to in section 2302(a)(2)(C)(ii) of title 5 shall prescribe procedures for ensuring that the rights under this chapter apply to the employees of such agency.

(b)In prescribing procedures under subsection (a), the head of an agency referred to in that subsection shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the procedures of the agency for reemploying persons who serve in the uniformed services provide for the reemployment of such persons in the agency in a manner similar to the manner of reemployment described in section 4313.

(c)(1)The procedures prescribed under subsection (a) shall designate an official at the agency who shall determine whether or not the reemployment of a person referred to in subsection (b) by the agency is impossible or unreasonable.

(2)Upon making a determination that the reemployment by the agency of a person referred to in subsection (b) is impossible or unreasonable, the official referred to in paragraph (1) shall notify the person and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management of such determination.

(3)A determination pursuant to this subsection shall not be subject to judicial review.

(4)The head of each agency referred to in subsection (a) shall submit to the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives on an annual basis a report on the number of persons whose reemployment with the agency was determined under this subsection to be impossible or unreasonable during the year preceding the report, including the reason for each such determination.

(d)(1)Except as provided in this section, nothing in this section, section 4313, or section 4325 shall be construed to exempt any agency referred to in subsection (a) from compliance with any other substantive provision of this chapter.

(2)This section may not be construed—

(A)as prohibiting an employee of an agency referred to in subsection (a) from seeking information from the Secretary regarding assistance in seeking reemployment from the agency under this chapter, alternative employment in the Federal Government under this chapter, or information relating to the rights and obligations of employee and Federal agencies under this chapter; or

(B)as prohibiting such an agency from voluntarily cooperating with or seeking assistance in or of clarification from the Secretary or the Director of the Office of Personnel Management of any matter arising under this chapter.

(e)The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall ensure the offer of employment to a person in a position in a Federal executive agency on the basis described in subsection (b) if—

(1)the person was an employee of an agency referred to in section 2302(a)(2)(C)(ii) of title 5 at the time the person entered the service from which the person seeks reemployment under this section;

(2)the appropriate officer of the agency determines under subsection (c) that reemployment of the person by the agency is impossible or unreasonable; and

(3)the person submits an application to the Director for an offer of employment under this subsection.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 4315 was renumbered section 7615 of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective with respect to reemployments initiated on or after the first day after the 60-day period beginning Oct. 13, 1994, with transition rules, see section 8 of Pub. L. 103–353, set out as a note under section 4301 of this title.