Returning Troops Complain Of Job Problems

WGAL-TV ^ | November 13, 2003

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

Federal Law Protects Jobs For Reservists, Guard Members

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The U.S. Labor Department is investigating complaints from National Guard soldiers and reservists who are returning home from Iraq, only to find they've lost their jobs.

This comes despite a federal law that is supposed to protect their jobs while they're on active duty.

Labor Department officials in Harrisburg said the problem is not as great in Pennsylvania compared to other states. Only 80 complaints have been filed from soldiers who have lost their jobs or promised promotions. None of the complaints have been filed in the Susquehanna Valley.

The complaints are filed under a federal law known as the Uniformed Services Employment And Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA.

The law guarantees a Reservist or Guard member a job, salary and benefits. It even guarantees a promotion if he or she was eligible for one while he or she was away.

It does not protect the Guard member from layoffs if his or her company goes out of business, and the employee must notify his or her employer in writing that he or she will be on active duty in the Guard and Reserve and will miss work.

"Most of the Reservists in Pennsylvania know their rights, and they're obligated by law to tell them when they are going to leave, unless it's a national emergency, and they can't and that makes things easier," said Larry Babitts, with the U.S. Department of Labor.

While complaints can go to court and employers can face fines, Babitts said most disputes are settled before that, and the disputes are usually the result of a misunderstanding.

If you know a returning Reservist or Guard soldier who is having problems getting his or her job back, or if you are an employer with questions about the law, call the Labor Department's office in Harrisburg, at 787-5834.

[Consort]

Feel better?

[lelio]

It does not protect the Guard member from layoffs if his or her company goes out of business

What if the company had 30% layoffs? I didn't even think there was such a law, and it was just voluntary that you were to pay the difference in their reservist pay and their regular salary.

[sixmil]

They were probably buggywhip jobs anyway. /freetrade

[BenLurkin]

Don't worry, the Guard has some good lawyers, and they will be on these cases.

[Arpege92]

Shouldn't there be a law that would protect soldiers who come home from war only to find that they have been laid off. Shouldn't the government pick up the slack for them until they find themselves another job?

[thoughtomator]

I wonder how many of those jobs went overseas.

[StatesEnemy]

Feel better?

That's not the question.

Do you feel outraged?

[Consort]

Don't defend Bush haters, OK? Willie is a Bush hater. That the thrust of my post.

[Greybird]

When it's four or six weeks to deal with a problem in the homeland, that's one thing, and it's often easier to get others (or temps, or both) to cover a missing employee's duties.

When it's for A FULL YEAR, or longer, patrolling an imperial satrapy several thousand miles from home? Why should employers have to endure such holes in their operations? Small firms have foundered on one or two such key employees being gone that long from illness, let alone Guard/Reserve duty.

[Burkeman1]

Must be "whiners"- who wouldn't want to serve in the gloriuos campaign that is Iraq- since our "leaders" know exactely what they are doing over there!

[Held_to_Ransom]

,i.They were probably buggywhip jobs anyway. /freetrade

Yeah, like for Boeing or IBM. Programming, things like that.

[Burkeman1]

Sir? Take a stance.

[lelio]

When it's for A FULL YEAR, or longer

My thoughts exactly. Back in the Old Days of massively large companies you could probably let someone go for 6-8 weeks and business would still go along. Just try running a small to mid sized business and have someone say "Oh by the way, I'm living for more than a year."

What I fear are employers now going to have a reason to turn down employees that are reservists as they could get stuck in this bind.