A reasonable certainty is a high probability that the employee would have received the seniority or seniority-based right or benefit if he or she had been continuously employed. The employee does not have to establish that he or she would have received the benefit as an absolute certainty. The employee can demonstrate a reasonable certainty that he or she would have received the seniority right or benefit by showing that other employees with seniority similar to that which the employee would have had if he or she had remained continuously employed received the right or benefit. The employer cannot withhold the right or benefit based on an assumption that a series of unlikely events could have prevented the employee from gaining the right or benefit.
authority: Section 4331(a) of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA),
38 U.S.C. 4331(a) (Pub. L. 103-353, 108 Stat. 3150)
source: 70 FR 75292, Dec. 19, 2005, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 20 CFR 1002.213