[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2293 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2293

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
 Assistance Act to provide certain employment rights to reservists of 
    the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Civilian Reservist Emergency 
Workforce Act of 2021'' or the ``CREW Act''.

SEC. 2. PERSONNEL PERFORMING SERVICE RESPONDING TO PRESIDENTIALLY 
              DECLARED MAJOR DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES.

    Section 306 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(d) Personnel Performing Service Responding to Disasters and 
Emergencies.--
            ``(1) USERRA employment and reemployment rights.--The 
        protections, rights, benefits, and obligations provided under 
        chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code, shall apply to 
        intermittent personnel appointed pursuant to subsection (b)(1) 
        to perform service to the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
        under sections 401 and 501 or to train for such service.
            ``(2) Notice of absence from position of employment.--
        Preclusion of giving notice of service by necessity of service 
        under subsection (b)(1) to perform service to the Federal 
        Emergency Management Agency under sections 401 and 501 or to 
        train for such service shall be considered preclusion by 
        `military necessity' for purposes of section 4312(b) of title 
        38, United States Code, pertaining to giving notice of absence 
        from a position of employment. A determination of such 
        necessity shall be made by the Administrator and shall not be 
        subject to review in any judicial or administrative 
        proceeding.''.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS TO FEMA 
              RESERVISTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 4303 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (13), by inserting before ``, and a 
        period'' the following: ``, a period for which a person is 
        absent from a position of employment due to an appointment into 
        service in the Federal Emergency Management Agency as 
        intermittent personnel under section 306(b)(1) of the Robert T. 
        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
        U.S.C. 5149(b)(1))'';
            (2) by redesignating the second paragraph (16) (relating to 
        uniformed services) as paragraph (17); and
            (3) in paragraph (17), as so redesignated, by inserting 
        before ``and any other category'' the following: ``intermittent 
        personnel who are appointed into Federal Emergency Management 
        Agency service under section 306(b)(1) of the Robert T. 
        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
        U.S.C. 5149(b)(1)) or to train for such service,''.
    (b) Modification of Exception for Requirement for Members of 
Uniformed Services to Provide Notice to Employers to Obtain Certain 
Employment and Reemployment Rights.--Section 4312(b) of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking the second sentence;
            (2) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``No notice''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(2) A determination of military necessity for purposes of 
paragraph (1) shall be made--
            ``(A) except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), 
        pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense;
            ``(B) for persons performing service to the Federal 
        Emergency Management Agency under section 327 of the Robert T. 
        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
        U.S.C. 5165f) and as intermittent personnel under section 
        306(b)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5149(b)(1)), by the 
        Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency as 
        described in sections 327(j)(2) and 306(d)(2) of such Act (42 
        U.S.C. 5165f(j)(2) and 5149(d)(2)), respectively; or
            ``(C) for intermittent disaster-response appointees of the 
        National Disaster Medical System, by the Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services as described in section 2812(d)(3)(B) of the 
        Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh-11(d)(3)(B)).
    ``(3) A determination of military necessity under paragraph (1) 
shall not be subject to judicial review.''.

            Passed the Senate December 8, 2021.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
117th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                S. 2293

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
 Assistance Act to provide certain employment rights to reservists of 
    the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes.