COVID–19 Military Backpay Act of 2025
COVID-19 Military Backpay Act of 2025 creates a private civil remedy for service members who were discharged or otherwise separated from the uniformed services due to noncompliance with the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate. If a member or former member files a claim in the Court of Federal Claims and the court finds the discharge was involuntary or unlawful, the bill requires the court to grant various backpay and restore-or-replace benefits. These remedies can include compensation for inactive-duty training (for reservists/National Guard) and a set of broader relief such as deemed service time, eligibility for retirement or reenlistment, and involuntary-separation pay. The act applies to claims pending after enactment and adds to any remedies already available under Executive Order 14184, with the Court of Federal Claims given jurisdiction to hear these claims.
Key Points
- 1Creates a private right of action in the Court of Federal Claims for covered members to challenge COVID-19 vaccination-mandate-related discharges as involuntary or unlawful.
- 2Defines “covered discharge,” “covered member,” and “COVID-19 vaccination mandate,” tying the mandate to the DoD vaccination order issued August 24, 2021, and any service implementations of it.
- 3If the court determines the discharge was involuntary or unlawful, the member is entitled to monetary and non-monetary remedies, including:
- 4- Compensation for inactive-duty training for reservists/National Guard members not performed due to the discharge.
- 5- No reduction of such backpay by civilian earnings.
- 6- Service-time reckonings: deemed service time through the end of the original term plus potential reenlistment/extension, with specific provisions for reaching 18 or 20 years of service.
- 7- Retirement/retainer pay and related benefits for those who would have met 18 or 20 years of service, including potential retirement date adjustments.
- 8- Reenlistment/extension for two years following the end of the discharge term.
- 9- Involuntary separation pay, with time-in-service and time-in-rank counted to include the discharge term and any reenlistment/extension.
- 10Discharge contexts are clarified: it is not a defense that the discharge was voluntary if caused solely by noncompliance or vaccination status; certain discharge reasons documented as “for the convenience of the Government,” “not world-wide deployable,” or “misconduct” would constitute conclusive evidence of involuntary discharge.
- 11Jurisdiction resides with the Court of Federal Claims, notwithstanding 28 U.S.C. 1500, and remedies are in addition to any rights under Executive Order 14184.