Rotarian Sam Wright on Occupational License Portability for Military Personnel and Their Spouses
Samuel F. Wright was a Washington DC-based attorney active in veterans issues. Captain Samuel F. Wright, JAGC, USN (Ret.) was the Director of the Service Members Law Center (SMLC), as a full-time employee of the Reserve Officers Association (ROA). Today, Wright lives in Marlin, Texas, and is an active Rotarian.
The following was his presentation to members and guests at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Marlin on April 10, 2024, at The Chicken Place, Marlin. His explanation is for every family of military servicemen and servicewomen.
For those who do not know Sam Wright, here is an introduction: Sam Wright holds a BA degree 1973 from Northwestern University, JD (law degree) 1976 University of Houston, LLM (Advanced law degree) 1980 Georgetown University. He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve as a Judge Advocate General’s Corps Officer and retired in 2007. He is a life member of ROA.
For 45 years, Sam Wright has collaborated with volunteers around the country to “reform absentee voting laws and procedures to facilitate the enfranchisement of the brave young men and women who serve our country in uniform.”
Sam Wright also dealt with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and the Veterans’ Reemployment Rights Act (VRRA - the 1940 version of the Federal Reemployment Statute) for 38 years. He developed the interest and expertise in this law during 1982-1992, while working for the United Department of Labor (DOL) as an attorney. Sam Wright explains, “Together with one other DOL attorney, Susan M. Webman, I largely drafted the proposed VRRA rewrite that President George H.W. Bush presented to Congress as his proposal in February 1991. The version of USERRA that President Clinton signed in 1994 was 85% the same as the Webman-Wright draft.”
Sam Wright also dealt with the VRRA and USERRA as a judge advocate to the US Navy and Navy Reserve., as an attorney for the United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC), as an attorney in private practice, and as Director of the Service Members Law Center (SMLC), and as a full time employee of ROA. His paid employment ended in 2025. Sam Wright continues the work of the SMLC as a volunteer.
Sam Wright invites, “the reader’s attention to www.roa.org/law center. One will find more than 2,000 “Law Review” articles about the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), the Uniformed and Reemployment Rights Act (UOCAVA), the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA), and other laws that are especially pertinent to those who serve our country in uniform. One will find also a detailed Subject Index, to facilitate finding articles about specific topics.``
The Reserve Officers Association, now doing business as the Reserve Organization of America, initiated this column in 1997. Sam Wright is the author of more than 90% of the articles. Sam Wright humorously added, “but we are always looking for “other than Sam” articles by other lawyers.”
Sam Wright described, “In Law Review 23019, First Lieutenant Tara Buckles wrote: Military spouses face many hurdles when their service member receives (transfer order) orders, including finding a new place to live, a new job, and settling in an entirely new environment. Spouses who work in fields that require professional or occupational licensure in order to work often face even more difficult paths to transition. Obtaining a new professional license is often expensive, time-consuming, and results in a hit tothe overall family income while the spouse waits for the license to work.
This new law the SCRA amendment) provides much-needed relief to these military families by providing license portability in all fields, except for the practice of law. This license portability applies to not only a military spouse, but to the service member as well.”
On Jan. 5, 2023, Congress enacted and President Biden signed into law a new section of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). That section reads as follows, “(a) In general, in any case in which a servicemember or the spouse of a servicemember has a coveted license and such servicemember or spouse relocates his or her residency because of military orders for military service to a location that is not in the jurisdiction of the licensing authority that issued the covered license, such covered license shall be considered valid at a similar scope of practice and in the disciplined applied for in the jurisdiction of such new residency for the duration of such military orders…criteria followed” (As is explained in Law Review 116 (March 2014), the SCRA was a long-overdue update and rewrite of the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Telief Act, which was originally enacted in 1917. Law Review 116 is by Colonel Mark E. Sulllivan, US Army (Ret).
“On Aug. 3. 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent a memorandum to all State agencies informing them of the enactment of 50 U.S.C. 4025a and directing them to comply with this new federal requirement,“ finalized Sam Wright.
“In today’s national security environment, the nation relies heavily on the Reserve and Guard. Increased reliance on our Citizen Warriors drives a greater need for service members in the Reserve Components and their employers to better understand the basic laws that apply to both of them. Each has duties and responsibilities. The Service Members Law Center provides resources, links and information on the laws governing the service member/employer relationship.” (roa.org)
A 45-minute video brief on ROA’s YouTube channel. CAPT Samuel F. Wright, JAGC, USN (Ret.) shares his overview of USERRA law and answers some of the most common questions received at Reserve Organization.
ROA is the nation’s only national military organization that exclusively and solely supports the nation’s reserve components, including the Coast Guard Reserve (6,179 members), the Marine Corps Reserve (32,599 members), the Navy Reserve (55,224), the Air Force Reserve (68,048 members), the Air National Guard (104,984), and the Navy Reserve (176,171 members), and the Army National Guard (329,705 members).
Sam Wright States, “If you are now serving or have served in any one of our nation’s eight uniformed services, you are eligible for membership in ROA.” Note: Congress recently established the United States Space Force as the eighth uniformed service. Anyone who is or has been a commissioned or warrant officer or a noncommissioned or petty officer in any one of the uniformed services is eligible for ROA membership on-line at https://www.roa.org/page/memberoptions.
Rotary Club of Marlin extends its deep appreciation and thanks to Rotarian Sam Wright for his dedication to Rotary International and the Reserve Organization of America.