U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced a new service to help ensure National Guard and reserve service members return to the jobs and benefits they are entitled to under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). The latest improvement by the Department of Labor is a Web site where a USERRA or veterans' preference complaint can be filed electronically at https://vets1010.dol.gov/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fDefault.aspx.

"America's soldiers who sacrifice so much for all of us, deserve every consideration and legal protection in returning to civilian life and careers," Chao said. "This new online form will make it easier for National Guard and Reserve service members to alert us to any job-related problems they may encounter because of their service to our country."

Developed by the Labor Department's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS), the form is called the VETS Form 1010. It is easy to fill out and can be filed in seconds electronically.

This is the latest in a series of compliance-assistance efforts undertaken by the Department of Labor to increase employee and employer awareness of USERRA. Others include:

* Providing a poster that spells out rights and responsibilities under USERRA for display in workplaces. It can be downloaded at: http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/poster.pdf;

* Providing briefings and technical assistance to more than 280,000 service members and others on USERRA;

* Distributing public service announcements to increase awareness of USERRA rights, and

* Publishing proposed USERRA regulations, which explain the law in plain English and are expected to be officially released in the fall.

USERRA protects the job rights of individuals who voluntarily or involuntarily leave employment positions to undertake military service. The law also prohibits employers from discriminating against past and present members of the uniformed services and applicants to the uniformed services.

Employers can obtain d etailed information about USERRA by calling 1-866-4-USA-DOL or by visiting http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/.