Title: CREW Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Civilian Reservist Emergency Workforce Act of 2021 or the CREW Act
This bill provides employment protections under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reservists who deploy to major disaster and emergency sites. It allows such reservists to claim such rights under USERRA even if they do not provide notice of their absence from work due to deployment.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2293 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2293

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
 Assistance Act to provide certain employment rights to reservists of 
    the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 24, 2021

Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Portman) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
 Assistance Act to provide certain employment rights to reservists of 
    the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Civilian Reservist Emergency 
Workforce Act of 2021'' or the ``CREW Act''.

SEC. 2. PERSONNEL PERFORMING SERVICE RESPONDING TO PRESIDENTIALLY 
              DECLARED MAJOR DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES.

    Section 306 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(d) Personnel Performing Service Responding to Disasters and 
Emergencies.--
            ``(1) USERRA employment and reemployment rights.--The 
        Administrator shall, in a manner similar to the program 
        described in chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code, afford 
        protections, rights, benefits, and obligations to intermittent 
        personnel appointed pursuant to subsection (b)(1) to perform 
        service to the Federal Emergency Management Agency under 
        sections 401 and 501 or to train for such service.
            ``(2) Notice of absence from position of employment.--
        Preclusion of giving notice of service by necessity of service 
        under subsection (b)(1) to perform service to the Federal 
        Emergency Management Agency under sections 401 and 501 or to 
        train for such service shall be considered preclusion by 
        `military necessity' for purposes the protections, rights, 
        benefits, and obligations afforded under paragraph (1) 
        pertaining to giving notice of absence from a position of 
        employment. A determination of such necessity shall be made by 
        the Administrator and shall not be subject to review in any 
        judicial or administrative proceeding.''.
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