I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3524 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide certain rights for persons 
who receive treatment for illnesses, injuries, and disabilities incurred 
in or aggravated by service in the uniformed services, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 30, 2011 
Mr. BRALEY of Iowa introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide certain 
rights for persons who receive treatment for illnesses, 
injuries, and disabilities incurred in or aggravated by 
service in the uniformed services, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disabled Veterans Em-
ployment Protection Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. RIGHTS OF PERSONS WHO RECEIVE TREATMENT 
FOR ILLNESSES, INJURIES, AND DISABIL-
ITIES INCURRED IN OR AGGRAVATED BY 
SERVICE IN THE UNIFORMED SERVICES. 
(a) RIGHTS
OF PERSONS WHO RECEIVE TREAT-
MENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 43 
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 4320. Rights of persons absent from employment 
for treatment of service-connected dis-
abilities 
‘‘(a) RETENTION.—Subject to subsection (e), a per-
son who is absent from a position of employment by rea-
son of the receipt of medical treatment for a service-con-
nected disability is entitled to be retained by the person’s 
employer. 
‘‘(b) SENIORITY.—A person who is absent from em-
ployment by reason of the receipt of medical treatment 
for a service-connected disability and who is entitled to 
be retained by the person’s employer under subsection (a) 
is entitled to the seniority and other rights and benefits 
determined by seniority that the person had on the date 
of the commencement of such treatment plus the addi-
tional seniority and rights and benefits that such person 
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would have attained if the person had remained continu-
ously employed. 
‘‘(c) BENEFITS.—(1) A person who is absent from 
a position of employment by reason of the receipt of med-
ical treatment for a service-connected disability and who 
is entitled to be retained by the person’s employer under 
subsection (a) shall be— 
‘‘(A) deemed to be on furlough or leave of ab-
sence while receiving such treatment; and 
‘‘(B) entitled to such other rights and benefits 
not determined by seniority as are generally provided 
by the employer of the person to employees having 
similar seniority, status, and pay who are on fur-
lough or leave of absence under a contract, agree-
ment, policy, practice, or plan in effect at the com-
mencement of such service or established while such 
person is so absent. 
‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (C), a person de-
scribed in subparagraph (B) is not entitled to rights and 
benefits under paragraph (1)(B). 
‘‘(B) A person described in this subparagraph is a 
person who— 
‘‘(i) is absent from a position of employment by 
reason of the receipt of medical treatment for a serv-
ice-connected disability; and 
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‘‘(ii) knowingly provides written notice of intent 
not to return to a position of employment after re-
ceiving such treatment. 
‘‘(C) For the purposes of this paragraph, the em-
ployer shall have the burden of proving that a person 
knowingly provided clear written notice of intent not to 
return to a position of employment after being absent 
from employment by reason of the receipt of medical treat-
ment and, in doing so, was aware of the specific rights 
and benefits to be lost under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(3) A person deemed to be on furlough or leave of 
absence under this subsection while receiving medical 
treatment for a service-connected disability shall not be 
entitled under this subsection to any benefits to which the 
person would not otherwise be entitled if the person had 
remained continuously employed. 
‘‘(4) Such person may be required to pay the em-
ployee cost, if any, of any funded benefit continued pursu-
ant to paragraph (1) to the extent other employees on fur-
lough or leave of absence are so required. 
‘‘(5) The entitlement of a person to coverage under 
a health plan is provided for under section 4317 of this 
title. 
‘‘(d) LEAVE.—Any person who is absent from a posi-
tion of employment with an employer by reason of the re-
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ceipt of medical treatment for a service-connected dis-
ability shall be permitted, upon request of that person, to 
use during the period during which the person is so ab-
sent, any vacation, annual, medical, or similar leave with 
pay accrued by the person before the commencement of 
such period. No employer may require any such person 
to use vacation, annual, family, medical, or similar leave 
during such period. 
‘‘(e) EXCEPTIONS.—(1) An employer is not required 
to comply with the requirements of this section if— 
‘‘(A) the employer’s circumstances have so 
changed as to make such compliance impossible or 
unreasonable; 
‘‘(B) such compliance would impose an undue 
hardship on the employer; or 
‘‘(C) the employment from which the person is 
absent by reason of the receipt of medical treatment 
is for a brief, nonrecurrent period and there is no 
reasonable expectation that such employment will 
continue indefinitely or for a significant period. 
‘‘(2) In any proceeding involving an issue of whether 
(A) any compliance referred to in paragraph (1) is impos-
sible or unreasonable because of a change in an employer’s 
circumstances, (B) such compliance would impose an 
undue hardship on the employer, or (C) the employment 
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referred to in paragraph (1)(C) is for a brief, nonrecurrent 
period and there is no reasonable expectation that such 
employment will continue indefinitely or for a significant 
period, the employer shall have the burden of proving the 
impossibility or unreasonableness, undue hardship, or the 
brief or nonrecurrent nature of the employment without 
a reasonable expectation of continuing indefinitely or for 
a significant period. 
‘‘(f) LIMITATION.—This section shall apply with re-
spect to any absence from a position of employment with 
an employer by reason of the receipt of medical treatment 
for a service-connected disability as long as the aggregate 
period of such absence or absences is not more than 12 
workweeks during any 12-month period.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 4319 
the following new item: 
‘‘4320. Rights of persons absent from employment for treatment of service-con-
nected disabilities.’’. 
(b) HEALTH PLAN.—Section 4317 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(c) This section shall apply with respect to a person 
who is absent from a position of employment by reason 
of the receipt of medical treatment for a service-connected 
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disability (other than a person described in section 
4320(c)(2)(B) of this title) on the same basis as a person 
who is absent from a position of employment by reason 
of service in the uniformed services. In the case of a per-
son who is absent from a position of employment by rea-
son of the receipt of medical treatment for a service-con-
nected disability (other than a person described in section 
4320(c)(2)(B) of this title), the period during which the 
person is so absent shall be treated as a period of service 
in the uniformed services for purposes of this section.’’. 
(c) PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION AND ACTS OF 
REPRISAL.—Section 4311 of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by inserting after ‘‘uniformed service’’ 
the following: ‘‘, or who has an illness, injury, 
or disability determined by the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to have been incurred in or ag-
gravated by such service,’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘or obligation’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘obligation, or receipt of treatment for that 
illness, injury, or disability’’; and 
(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or obligation for service’’ 
the first time it appears and inserting ‘‘obliga-
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tion for service, or receipt of treatment for an 
illness, injury, or disability determined by the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to have been in-
curred in or aggravated by service’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘or obligation for service’’ 
the second time it appears and inserting ‘‘obli-
gation for service, or receipt of treatment’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to medical treatment 
received on or after the date that is 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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