2005 North Carolina Code - General Statutes Article 16 - National Guard Reemployment Rights.

Article 16.

National Guard Reemployment Rights.

§ 127A‑201.� Entitlement.

Any member of the North Carolina National Guard who, at the direction of the Governor, enters State duty, is entitled, upon honorable release from State duty, to all the reemployment rights provided for in this Article. (1979, c. 155, s. 1.)

 

§ 127A‑202.� Rights.

Upon release from State duty, the employee shall make written application to his previous employer for reemployment within five days of his release from duty or from hospitalization continuing after release. If the employee is still qualified for his previous employment, he shall be restored to his previous position or to a position of like seniority, status and salary, unless the employer's circumstances now make the restoration unreasonable. If the employee is no longer qualified for his previous employment, he shall be placed in another position, for which he is qualified, and which will give him appropriate seniority, status and salary, unless the employer's circumstances now make the placement unreasonable. (1979, c. 155, s. 1.)

 

§ 127A‑202.1.� Discrimination against persons who serve in the North Carolina National Guard and acts of reprisal prohibited.

(a)������ It is the policy of this State that all individuals shall be afforded the right to perform, apply to perform, or have an obligation to perform service in the North Carolina National Guard without fear of discrimination or retaliatory action from their employer or prospective employer on the basis of that membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation.

(b)������ An individual who is a member of the North Carolina National Guard who performs, has performed, applies to perform, or has an obligation to perform service in the North Carolina National Guard shall not be denied initial employment, reemployment, retention in employment, promotion, or any benefit of employment by an employer on the basis of that membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation.

(c)������ A person shall be considered to have denied a member of the North Carolina National Guard initial employment, reemployment, retention in employment, promotion, or a benefit of employment in violation of this section if the member's membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation for service in the North Carolina National Guard is a motivating factor in that person's action, unless the person can prove by the greater weight of the evidence that the same unfavorable action would have taken place in the absence of the member's membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation.

(d)������ Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a person to pay salary or wages to a member of the North Carolina National Guard during the member's period of active service.

(e)������ The Commissioner of Labor shall enforce the provisions of this section according to Article 21 of Chapter 95 of the General Statutes, including the rules and regulations issued pursuant to that Article.

(f)������� This section shall also apply when a member of the North Carolina National Guard is called into active duty at the direction of the President, the Governor, or by any other competent authority. (1997‑153, s. 1; 2004‑130, s. 3.)

 

§ 127A‑203.� Penalties for denial.

If any employer, public or private, fails or refuses to comply with G.S. 127A‑202, the superior court for the district of the employer's place of business may, upon the filing of a motion, petition, or other appropriate pleading by the employee, require the employer to comply with G.S. 127A‑202 and to compensate the employee for any loss of wages or benefits suffered by reason of the employer's unlawful failure or refusal. (1979, c. 155, s. 1.)