Military in transition
Employers learn do’s, don’ts of re-integrating service membersBy JESSE HELLING, Messenger staff writer
Article Photos
Fact Box
About the Uniformed Services
Employment and Re-employment Rights Act
The Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act, prohibits discrimination against persons because of their service in the Armed Forces Reserve, the National Guard, or other uniformed services. USERRA prohibits an employer from denying any benefit of employment on the basis of an individual's membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation for service in the uniformed services. USERRA also protects the right of veterans, reservists, National Guard members, and certain other members of the uniformed services to reclaim their civilian employment after being absent due to military service or training.
Source: U.S. Office of Special Counsel
About Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is a Department of Defense organization. It is a staff group within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, which is in itself a part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. ESGR was established in 1972 to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve component members and their civilian employers and to assist in the resolution of conflicts arising from an employee's military commitment. The mission of the ESGR is to gain and maintain employer support for Guard and Reserve service by recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of the law, and resolving conflicts through mediation.
When it comes to service in either the National Guard or Reserves, both employer and employee have rights and responsibilities.
When in doubt as to what this entails, it's best to ask, said leaders from organizations designed to smooth such interactions.
Representatives from Iowa's Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve and the United States Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service spoke with several area employers Tuesday.
During the luncheon meeting, speakers highlighted ways in which employers can ease the transition for troops returning from recent deployments.
Often, employers are unaware of all the legal rights possessed by employees who serve in the Guard of Reserves, said Dennis Larson, assistant director of the Department of Labor's VETS program.
"In a lot of cases, at the corporate level, we hear, 'We support our troops'," Larson said. "But there can be a breakdown in communication at the lower level."
For example, a supervisor or foreman, under pressure to meet production quotas, could resent an employee's absence for regularly scheduled drills and seek to hinder their participation.
But this is against the law, Larson said.
Members of the National Guard or Reserves are required to give their employer advance notice of drills and deployments, Larson said.
"But the law doesn't say how much," he said.
The law stipulates that notice can be given verbally or orally, according to Larson.
"We encourage troops as a courtesy to their employers to give as much notice as they can," he said.
Following any deployment, an employee must be reinstated in their job and granted the status, seniority and benefits to which they would have been entitled had they not left, Larson said.
If an employee feels as though their employer is not honoring the law, they can contact Larson's office for an investigation, he said.
"I conduct 40 to 60 investigations per year," he said.
Larson encouraged employers who have any questions to contact him before an investigation becomes necessary.
Employers can also contact ESGR representatives, including Becky Coady, deputy director of Iowa's ESGR.
The organization, which was created by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1972, provides free mediation services between employers and employees and conducts numerous programs designed to raise awareness of the laws, Coady said.
In Iowa, more than 160 ESGR volunteers work to provide such services.
"We want to make the transition as smooth as possible from work to Guard and Guard to work," said volunteer Russ Goebel.
Contact Jesse Helling at (515) 573-2141 or jhelling@messengernews.net
|
VTwinJim
|
|
|---|---|
|
11-20-08 11:19 AM
|
And a Great Job to all concerned. Thank You
|
|
VTwinJim
|
|
|
11-20-08 11:19 AM
|
And a Great Job to all concerned. Thank You
|