What does the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative Act of 2020 do?

The Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative Act of 2020 was enacted on January 5, 2021 and permanently makes the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative (The Initiative) part of the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ.  

What is the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative?

The Initiative is a program inside the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice that helps Servicemembers, Veterans, and their families understand and protect their rights.  Specifically, the rights that are covered under the initiative include:

• Housing,
   
• Financial,
   
• Employment, and 
   
• Voting

The Initiative also trains attorneys who would like to represent servicemembers, veterans, and their family members should those rights be violated.

How does the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative help servicemembers, veterans, and their families protect their rights?

The Initiative helps servicemembers, veterans, and their families directly by:

• Providing online information and resources to those with military experience,
   
• Enforcing existing laws that protect housing, financial, employment, and voting rights of servicemembers and veterans, and
   
• Strengthening existing laws so that they include protections specifically for those with military experience and their family.  

The Initiative also helps servicemembers, veterans, and their families by providing training and resources to their attorneys.  The laws that are covered in attorney training and resources include:

• Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act ("USERRA") - for employment rights
   
• Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986 ("UOCAVA") - for voting rights, and
   
• Servicemembers Civil Relief Act ("SCRA") - for housing and financial rights.

Where can I learn more about the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative and the laws it covers?

You can find more information on the Initiative and the laws it focuses on by clicking on any of the links below

Read more about the Initiative here

Read the press release regarding the enactment of the the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative Act of 2020
 

Read more about the SCRA here
 

Read more about USSERA here
 

Read more about UOCAVA here
 

If you're a legal practitioner, click here for in depth info on the relevant laws and cases

January 2021