Reemployment: US

This Reemployment policy explains how your organization handles rehire decisions for former employees, including who may be eligible to return after a voluntary resignation with notice or a layoff, and when prior terminations for cause or no-notice departures will typically make someone ineligible. Because there's no single federal law that requires a standalone reemployment policy, many employers use a clear, consistent approach as a best practice to set expectations, support fair and documented hiring decisions, and reduce confusion for candidates, managers, and HR when former employees apply to rejoin the organization.

The History Behind Reemployment Policies in the US

Reemployment policies are a modern Job Performance practice, related to employers keeping more formal records about why someone left and how they performed. Early on, many rehire decisions were informal and manager-driven, which made outcomes inconsistent and hard to defend when a former employee claimed unfair treatment. Employers began writing down rehire rules because they needed a repeatable way to explain decisions about who could come back and who couldn't.

Federal anti-discrimination law contributed further to that shift. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the ADEA, the ADA, and later the Civil Rights Act of 1991 gave former employees and applicants stronger tools to challenge hiring and rehiring decisions, including claims based on disparate treatment and disparate impact. Courts also treated "no rehire" decisions as hiring decisions under these statutes, so a weak or inconsistent rationale could turn into a lawsuit. Employers responded by tying reemployment eligibility to documented, job-related reasons like resignation in good standing, layoffs, and prior misconduct.

Labor and leave laws added more pressure to get rehire decisions right. The NLRA has long limited blacklisting and retaliation tied to protected concerted activity, and the Supreme Court's decision in NLRB v. Town & Country Electric (1995) reinforced that even applicants with a complicated history can fall under NLRA protections. USERRA also made reemployment a legal requirement for many service members who return from military leave, which got HR teams used to the idea that "eligible for rehire" sometimes means "you must bring them back." Over time, a clear reemployment policy became a practical way to keep decisions consistent.

Which Law is a Reemployment Policy Meant to Comply With?

There's no federal law that specifically requires a Reemployment policy for US-based employees. We include this policy anyway because it's either (1) a common best practice that answers employee FAQs and sets clear expectations, or (2) a topic that is regulated in many states, so employers often use one company-wide policy that meets or exceeds the toughest state requirements.

How to Write a US-Specific Reemployment Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept.
• Define the types of prior departures that support rehire eligibility.
• Define the types of prior departures that generally make someone ineligible for rehire.
• Reserve discretion to make case-by-case exceptions to ineligibility.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

The law does not require you to publish a policy or issue a specific notice. That said, you still have to comply with the requirements that apply to you as an employer. 

You can comply without putting this in your handbook or otherwise publishing it to employees, but including it usually pays off. A short policy helps employees find answers without a ticket to HR, and it helps supervisors handle situations the same way across teams. If you're intentionally keeping your handbook lean, this can live in another easy-to-find policy hub, but make sure employees can actually access it and managers know where to point people. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to US employers who have at least 1 employee in the US.

Exceptions

None.