CBP strongly supports its employees that have a national guard or reserve commitment. In fact, CBP employees whose appointment is not limited to one year are entitled to time off from their federal position, at full pay, to perform certain types of active or inactive duty in the Reserves or National Guard. Return to your job, as if you never left.
CBP employees who complete their national guard/reserve commitments are covered under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). USERRA protects service members' reemployment rights when returning from a period of service in the uniformed services, to include:
- Promotions and Grade Increases: Employees are entitled to receive within-grade increases and career ladder promotions at the same time they normally would have had they not been serving their military commitment.
- Accrual of Benefits: Military duty is counted as covered service with CBP for eligibility, vesting, and benefit accrual purposes.
- Retirement Plans: Returning service members are treated as if they had been continuously employed regardless of the type of retirement plan the employer has adopted.
- Reemployment by Seniority: Returning service members are to be reemployed in the job that they would have attained had they not been absent for military service, with the same seniority, status and pay, as well as other rights and benefits determined by seniority within the required time limits.
Employee Testimonial
“I was in the U.S. Army Reserve when I started my career with CBP, in fact I was deployed when I received the job offer. Three more deployments and one mobilization later I retired from the reserves and never once felt that my military career interfered with my CBP career. Even though I spent half of my first 10 CBP years activated for one mission or another, it never had a negative impact. My supervisors and coworkers were always supportive and the training I received in both uniforms helped me with both of my careers.” - CBP Officer Cannon/Army Reserves (Ret)
Visit the National Guard and Reserve Personnel webpage on the Feds Hire Vets website for more information.