Some Disaster Relief Workers Are Protected Employees Under USERRA

Hurricanes. Fires. Floods. Shootings. The evening news seems consistently laden with catastrophe.

In times like these, a federal agency called the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) often springs into action. The NDMS, created in 2002 under the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, is a corps of volunteer reservists who perform a variety of disaster-relief services. While NDMS members are often medical clinicians providing health services (including doctors, nurses, paramedics, physician assistants, and pharmacists), teams may also include other non-medical professionals such as logistical specialists, information technologists, fatality management, veterinary professionals, and communication and administrative specialists.