S. 3445: Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Improvement Act of 2016

114th Congress · introduced 2016-09-28 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2016-09-28 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Improvement Act of 2016

Plain summary

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Improvement Act of 2016 This bill revises the enforcement of employment and reemployment rights of members of the Armed Forces with respect to state and private employers. The Department of Justice (DOJ) may initiate an action for relief: (1) with respect to a private or a state employer, and (2) when a state or private employer is engaged in a pattern or practice to infringe upon such rights. A person may bring an action against a state (as an employer), state instrumentality, or state officer or employee acting in his or her official capacity in U.S. district court or state court. The state, instrumentality, officer, or employee shall not be immune from such action under the Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution or under any doctrine of sovereign immunity. No such state, instrumentality, officer, or employee that receives or uses federal financial assistance for a program or activity shall be immune under the Eleventh Amendment or under any other doctrine of sovereign immunity from suit in federal or state court for any violation of such rights related to such program or activity. (Currently, a person may bring such an action against a state only in a state court.) The venue for an action against a private employer is expanded to include: (1) any district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred; or (2) any district in which the employer is subject to the court's personal jurisdiction with respect to such action if there is no district in which an action may otherwise be brought. DOJ may issue civil investigative demands. Service-related disability coverage is extended to include a disability that is brought to the employer's attention within five years after the person resumes employment. The bill provides that the employer has the burden of identifying the appropriate reemployment positions.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Improvement Act of 2016

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] · 3 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Patty Murray (D-WA), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] reported raising $771,465 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Jurisdiction: The area or the matters a government or court has authority over.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s3445.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s3445 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114