,,ib ,union ,calendar ,no4 #aic #aahth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #cidc ,report ,no4 #aah-bda ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #i1 #bjbc,mr4 ,c4 ,scott ,franklin of ,florida 7for himself and ,mr4 ,bost7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,october #b1 #bjbc,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed,strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic,for text of introduced bill1 see copy of bill as introduced on ,june #i1 #bjbc ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 to improve the reemployment rights of members of the ,armed ,forces1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,servicemember ,employment ,protection ,act of #bjbc4 #b4 ,improvements to reemployment rights of members of the ,armed ,forces 7a7 ,,userra purposes ,section #dcja7;a77#a7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking encourage noncareer service in the uniformed services and inserting encourage service in the uniformed services4 7b7 ,prohibition of retaliation ,subsection 7b7 of section #dcaa of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by inserting or other retaliatory action after employment action4 7c7 ,expansion of injunctive relief ,subsection 7e7 of section #dcbc of such title is amended-- 7#a7 by striking ,the court shall use and inserting 7#a7 ,the court shall use2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following new paragraphs3 7#b7 ,a person bringing an action to enforce a provision of this chapter pursuant to subsection 7a7 shall be entitled to an injunction under paragraph 7#a7 if such person demonstrates-- 7,a7 a violation-- 7i7 of the provisions of this chapter2 or 7ii7 of the provisions of this chapter is threatened or is imminent2 7,b7 the harm to the person outweighs the injury to the employer2 7,c7 a likelihood of success on the merits of such action2 and 7,d7 awarding such relief is in the public interest4 7#c7 ,the court may not deny a motion for injunctive relief on the basis that a party bringing an action to enforce a provision of this chapter may be awarded wages unearned due to an unlawful termination or denial of employment at the conclusion of such action4 4 7d7 ,damages against a ,state or private employer ,section #dcbc of such title is further amended1 in paragraph 7#a7 of subsection 7d71 by striking subparagraph 7,c7 and inserting the following new subparagraphs3 7,c7 ,the court may require the employer to pay the person the amount referred to in subparagraph 7,b7 and interest on such amount1 calculated at a rate of #c percent per year4 7,d7 ,the court may require the employer to pay the person the greater of #ej1jjj or the amount equal to the amounts referred to in subparagraphs 7,b7 and 7,c7 as liquidated damages1 if the court determines that the employer knowingly failed to comply with the provisions of this chapter4 4 7e7 ,mandatory attorney fees award in successful actions for reemployment 7#a7 ,,mspb actions ,paragraph 7#d7 of subsection 7c7 of section #dcbd of such title is amended-- 7,a7 by striking may1 in its discretion1 and inserting shall2 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following new sentence3 ,the ,board may1 in its discretion1 award reasonable attorney fees in a case settled before the issuance of an order if the person can demonstrate that significant attorney fees were incurred and that justice requires such an award44 7#b7 ,federal ,circuit actions ,subsection 7d7 of such section is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#c7 ,in such ,federal ,circuit proceeding1 the court shall award such person reasonable attorney fees1 expert witness fees1 and other litigation expenses if such person-- 7,a7 prevails in such ,federal ,circuit proceeding2 and 7,b7 is not represented by the ,special ,counsel in such ,federal ,circuit proceeding4 4 7#c7 ,actions against a ,state or private employer ,paragraph 7#b7 of section #dcbc7;h7 of such title is amended-- 7,a7 by striking subsection 7a77#b7 and inserting subsection 7a77#c72 and 7,b7 by striking the court may award any such person who prevails in such action or proceeding reasonable attorney fees and inserting the court shall award any such person who prevails in such action or proceeding reasonable attorney fees4 7f7 ,,gao review and report on ,,userra 7#a7 ,review ,the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall review the methods through which the ,secretary of ,labor1 acting through the ,veterans' ,employment and ,training ,service1 processes actions for relief under chapter #dc of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,elements ,not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general shall submit to the ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,senate a report that includes-- 7,a7 the findings of the review required under paragraph 7#a72 7,b7 an identification of the number of actions for relief under chapter #dc of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 initiated during the period covered by the report1 disaggregated by employer characteristics1 including size and geographic region2 7,c7 an identification of the number of such actions for relief that were dismissed1 including the characteristics of such actions and reasons for dismissal2 7,d7 an identification of the number of such actions for relief that were referred to the ,department of ,justice2 and 7,e7 an assessment of trends1 if any1 in such actions for relief initiated during such period4 7g7 ,,gao review of protections for members of the uniformed services by ,federal intelligence agencies 7#a7 ,briefing ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees a briefing on the processes and procedures adopted and used by the intelligence community to provide the protections for members of the uniformed services otherwise established under chapter #dc of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,report ,not later than #ah months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general shall provide to such committees a report on such processes and procedures4 7#c7 ,definitions ,in this subsection3 7,a7 ,the term appropriate congressional committees means the ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and ,senate1 the ,permanent ,select ,committee on ,intelligence of the ,house of ,representatives1 and the ,select ,committee on ,intelligence of the ,senate4 7,b7 ,the term intelligence community has the meaning given such term in section #c7d7 of the ,national ,security ,act of #aidg 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #cjjc7d774 #c4 ,review of investigations manual of ,veterans' ,employment and ,training ,service 7a7 ,in general ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and once every two years thereafter for the period of five years beginning on such date1 the ,secretary of ,labor1 shall review the manual of the ,department of ,labor titled ,veterans' ,employment and ,training ,service ,investigations ,manual3 ,,userra1 ,,veoa1 and ,,vp 7or a successor manual7 and make such revisions to such manual as the ,secretary determines appropriate4 7b7 ,report ,not later than #ij days after any date on which the ,secretary completes a review required under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,senate-- 7#a7 a report that includes a description of any revision to such manual made pursuant to such review2 and 7#b7 a copy of the entire such manual which-- 7,a7 shall be provided to the ,chairman and ,ranking ,member of each such committee2 and 7,b7 may contain a separate addendum for portions of the manual that contain law enforcement sensitive materials4 ,october #b1 #bjbc,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed