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Title 38, Veterans' BenefitsRelease 119-110

§4319 Employment and Reemployment Rights in Foreign Countries

Title 38 › PART III — READJUSTMENT AND RELATED BENEFITS › CHAPTER 43 — EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES › SUBCHAPTER II — EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS AND LIMITATIONS; PROHIBITIONS › § 4319

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

If a United States employer controls a company in another country, the U.S. employer is treated as responsible when that foreign company denies hiring, rehiring, or benefits. If the employer is a foreign person not controlled by a U.S. employer, these rules do not apply to its foreign operations. Control is decided by how linked the businesses are: shared operations, managers, central control of labor relations, or ownership/financial ties. An employer or its controlled foreign entity does not have to follow sections 4311 through 4318 for an employee in a foreign workplace if doing so would force them to break the law of that foreign country.

Full Legal Text

Title 38, §4319

Veterans' Benefits, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Liability of Controlling United States Employer of Foreign Entity.—
If an employer controls an entity that is incorporated or otherwise organized in a foreign country, any denial of employment, reemployment, or benefit by such entity shall be presumed to be by such employer.
(b)Inapplicability to Foreign Employer.—
This subchapter does not apply to foreign operations of an employer that is a foreign person not controlled by an United States employer.
(c)Determination of Controlling Employer.—
For the purpose of this section, the determination of whether an employer controls an entity shall be based upon the interrelations of operations, common management, centralized control of labor relations, and common ownership or financial control of the employer and the entity.
(d)Exemption.—
Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, an employer, or an entity controlled by an employer, shall be exempt from compliance with any of sections 4311 through 4318 of this title with respect to an employee in a workplace in a foreign country, if compliance with that section would cause such employer, or such entity controlled by an employer, to violate the law of the foreign country in which the workplace is located.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section applicable only with respect to causes of action arising after Nov. 11, 1998, see section 212(c) of Pub. L. 105–368, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1998 Amendment note under section 4303 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

38 U.S.C. § 4319

Title 38, Veterans' Benefits

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110