HR0096

LRB095 06754 DRJ 27672 r






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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, In the last 5 years, according to a United States 
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Department of Labor report presented to Congress in 2005, 5,690 
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veterans have lost their jobs in both the private and the 
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public employment sectors while activated to serve a tour of 
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duty; those numbers are expected to increase because, of the 
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300,000 deployed reservists, as  many as 25,000 veterans were 
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expected to return home in 2005 to reintegrate themselves back 
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into civilian life after a tour of duty in the global war 
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against terrorism; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Employment discrimination against veterans based 
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on the extended lengths of time for which they have been 
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deployed has been reported in Illinois as well as throughout 
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the United States; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Incidents of discrimination have included loss of 
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yearly pay raises, loss of position within the workplace, and 
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loss of employment altogether; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Federal law already prohibits the loss of status 
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or position for returning members of the military under the 
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Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act 
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(USERRA); the Act protects service members' reemployment 
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rights when they return from a period of service in the 
 


 






HR0096
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LRB095 06754 DRJ 27672 r




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uniformed services, including the rights of those who are 
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called up from the reserves or the National Guard, and 
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prohibits discrimination by employers based on military 
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service or obligation; the Act is administered by the United 
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States Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training 
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Service; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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urge the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs (i) to inform 
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employers of members of the armed forces who are called to 
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active duty of the employment rights of those service members 
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as veterans upon their return from active duty and (ii) to 
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inform those employers of the consequences of not following the 
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law in regard to the employment rights of returning veterans.