IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 466 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 9, 2009 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

AN ACT 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for certain 

rights and benefits for persons who are absent from 

positions of employment to receive medical treatment 

for service-connected disabilities. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
2 

HR 466 RFS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wounded Veteran Job 

3 Security Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. RIGHTS OF PERSONS WHO RECEIVE TREATMENT 

5 FOR ILLNESSES, INJURIES, AND DISABIL6 ITIES INCURRED IN OR AGGRAVATED BY 

7 SERVICE IN THE UNIFORMED SERVICES. 

8 (a) RIGHTS OF PERSONS WHO RECEIVE TREAT9 MENT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 43 

11 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by add12 ing at the end the following new section: 

13 ‘‘§ 4320. Rights of persons absent from employment 

14 for treatment of service-connected dis15 abilities 

16 ‘‘(a) RETENTION.—Subject to subsection (e), a per17 son who is absent from a position of employment by rea18 son of the receipt of medical treatment for a service-con19 nected disability is entitled to be retained by the person’s 

20 employer. 

21 ‘‘(b) SENIORITY.—A person who is absent from em22 ployment by reason of the receipt of medical treatment 

23 for a service-connected disability and who is entitled to 

24 be retained by the person’s employer under subsection (a) 

25 is entitled to the seniority and other rights and benefits 

26 determined by seniority that the person had on the date 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
3 

HR 466 RFS

1 of the commencement of such treatment plus the addi2 tional seniority and rights and benefits that such person 

3 would have attained if the person had remained continu4 ously employed. 

5 ‘‘(c) BENEFITS.—(1) A person who is absent from 

6 a position of employment by reason of the receipt of med7 ical treatment for a service-connected disability and who 

8 is entitled to be retained by the person’s employer under 

9 subsection (a) shall be— 

10 ‘‘(A) deemed to be on furlough or leave of ab11 sence while receiving such treatment; and 

12 ‘‘(B) entitled to such other rights and benefits 

13 not determined by seniority as are generally provided 

14 by the employer of the person to employees having 

15 similar seniority, status, and pay who are on fur16 lough or leave of absence under a contract, agree17 ment, policy, practice, or plan in effect at the com18 mencement of such service or established while such 

19 person is so absent. 

20 ‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (C), a person de21 scribed in subparagraph (B) is not entitled to rights and 

22 benefits under paragraph (1)(B). 

23 ‘‘(B) A person described in this subparagraph is a 

24 person who— 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
4 

HR 466 RFS

1 ‘‘(i) is absent from a position of employment by 

2 reason of the receipt of medical treatment for a serv3 ice-connected disability; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) knowingly provides written notice of intent 

5 not to return to a position of employment after re6 ceiving such treatment. 

7 ‘‘(C) For the purposes of this paragraph, the em8 ployer shall have the burden of proving that a person 

9 knowingly provided clear written notice of intent not to 

10 return to a position of employment after being absent 

11 from employment by reason of the receipt of medical treat12 ment and, in doing so, was aware of the specific rights 

13 and benefits to be lost under subparagraph (A). 

14 ‘‘(3) A person deemed to be on furlough or leave of 

15 absence under this subsection while receiving medical 

16 treatment for a service-connected disability shall not be 

17 entitled under this subsection to any benefits to which the 

18 person would not otherwise be entitled if the person had 

19 remained continuously employed. 

20 ‘‘(4) Such person may be required to pay the em21 ployee cost, if any, of any funded benefit continued pursu22 ant to paragraph (1) to the extent other employees on fur23 lough or leave of absence are so required. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
5 

HR 466 RFS

1 ‘‘(5) The entitlement of a person to coverage under 

2 a health plan is provided for under section 4317 of this 

3 title. 

4 ‘‘(d) LEAVE.—Any person who is absent from a posi5 tion of employment with an employer by reason of the re6 ceipt of medical treatment for a service-connected dis7 ability shall be permitted, upon request of that person, to 

8 use during the period during which the person is so ab9 sent, any vacation, annual, medical, or similar leave with 

10 pay accrued by the person before the commencement of 

11 such period. No employer may require any such person 

12 to use vacation, annual, family, medical, or similar leave 

13 during such period. 

14 ‘‘(e) EXCEPTIONS.—(1) An employer is not required 

15 to comply with the requirements of this section if— 

16 ‘‘(A) the employer’s circumstances have so 

17 changed as to make such compliance impossible or 

18 unreasonable; 

19 ‘‘(B) such compliance would impose an undue 

20 hardship on the employer; or 

21 ‘‘(C) the employment from which the person is 

22 absent by reason of the receipt of medical treatment 

23 is for a brief, nonrecurrent period and there is no 

24 reasonable expectation that such employment will 

25 continue indefinitely or for a significant period. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
6 

HR 466 RFS

1 ‘‘(2) In any proceeding involving an issue of whether 

2 (A) any compliance referred to in paragraph (1) is impos3 sible or unreasonable because of a change in an employer’s 

4 circumstances, (B) such compliance would impose an 

5 undue hardship on the employer, or (C) the employment 

6 referred to in paragraph (1)(C) is for a brief, nonrecurrent 

7 period and there is no reasonable expectation that such 

8 employment will continue indefinitely or for a significant 

9 period, the employer shall have the burden of proving the 

10 impossibility or unreasonableness, undue hardship, or the 

11 brief or nonrecurrent nature of the employment without 

12 a reasonable expectation of continuing indefinitely or for 

13 a significant period.’’. 

14 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec15 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

16 by inserting after the item relating to section 4319 

17 the following new item: 

‘‘4320. Rights of persons absent from employment for treatment of service-connected disabilities.’’. 

18 (b) HEALTH PLAN.—Section 4317 of title 38, United 

19 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing new subsection: 

21 ‘‘(c) This section shall apply with respect to a person 

22 who is absent from a position of employment by reason 

23 of the receipt of medical treatment for a service-connected 

24 disability (other than a person described in section 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
7 

HR 466 RFS

1 4320(c)(2)(B) of this title) on the same basis as a person 

2 who is absent from a position of employment by reason 

3 of service in the uniformed services. In the case of a per4 son who is absent from a position of employment by rea5 son of the receipt of medical treatment for a service-con6 nected disability (other than a person described in section 

7 4320(c)(2)(B) of this title), the period during which the 

8 person is so absent shall be treated as a period of service 

9 in the uniformed services for purposes of this section.’’. 

10 (c) PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION AND ACTS OF

11 REPRISAL.—Section 4311 of title 38, United States Code, 

12 is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) by inserting after ‘‘uniformed service’’ 

15 the following: ‘‘, or who has an illness, injury, 

16 or disability determined by the Secretary of 

17 Veterans Affairs to have been incurred in or ag18 gravated by such service,’’; and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘or obligation’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘obligation, or receipt of treatment for that 

21 illness, injury, or disability’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (c)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘or obligation for service’’ 

24 the first time it appears and inserting ‘‘obliga25 tion for service, or receipt of treatment for an 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
8 

HR 466 RFS

1 illness, injury, or disability determined by the 

2 Secretary of Veterans Affairs to have been in3 curred in or aggravated by service’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘or obligation for service’’ 

5 the second time it appears and inserting ‘‘obli6 gation for service, or receipt of treatment’’. 

7 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall apply with respect to medical treatment 

9 received on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 8, 2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS