Montana Military Service Employment Right Act (MMSERA)

MMSERA provides employment and reemployment protections for members of the Montana organized militia or federal reserves when they are not covered by the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), 38 U.S.C.4301, et seq., or other applicable federal laws.  MMSERA entitles a member to an unpaid leave of absence to perform state active duty.

To file a complaint under the MMSERA, a member must:

1. File within 15 days of the discovery of the employer’s failure to comply with Title 10, Chapter 1 of the MCA.
2. Fill out the complaint form and mail it to:

Montana Department of Labor & Industry
Compliance and Investigations Bureau
PO Box 201503
Helena, MT  59620-1503

For further information or technical assistance, call the Montana Department of Labor’s Employment Relations Division at (406) 444-6543.
For information concerning state disasters or emergencies, contact the Montana Department of Emergency Services at (406) 324-4777 or the Montana State Emergency Coordination Center at (406) 324-4790.

  • A guard member called up for federally funded military duty, including training performed pursuant to orders issued under Title 10 or 32 of the United States Code and the time period, if any, required pursuant to a licensed physician’s certification to recover from an illness or injury incurred while performing the duty, falls under federal jurisdiction.  If you believe your employment is impacted because of your federally funded military duty, visit the USERRA website at http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra or contact the Montana Veterans’ Employment and Training Services (VETS) offices at (406) 447-3233 or (406) 447-3239.
  • In order to be protected under the MMSERA, an employee must be called up for state military duty, which is defined in §10-1-1003(7) of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) as:

    “(a) ‘State military duty’ means duty performed by a member pursuant to Article VI, section 13, of the Montana constitution, the authority of the governor of any other state, or 10-1-505 and the time period, if any, required pursuant to a licensed physician’s certification to recover from an illness or injury incurred while performing the state military duty.
    (b) The term does not include federally funded military training.”

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