Comments on: Reservists' Rocky Return To Job Market

60 Minutes Report Also Examines Costs Borne By Employers Of Deployed Citizen Soldiers

[outwest6]

The Police Chief of Sherwood (a small town) got his nose out of joint because even though he got his same high pay and large benefits, he got a different office and one more person in the chain of command! Welcome to the real world where corporations in the private sector are constantly downsizing and reorganizing with little regard for pay scales. He thinks the taxpayers of the City ought to give him $1,000,000 because his "feelings" were hurt, typical milk the system police responce.

[encinitasone]

Employers are discriminating against the military, how about this one, employers that only hire employee''s that have military spouses (or in the case of my wife i have benefits and i am non military but lots of military women go through thsi office and move on as their spouses get transferred) so they do not have to give medical benefits. My wife works for a female doctor in Encinitas that only hires employee''s after finding out if they already have medical benefits so discrimination goes both ways on this issue.

[encinitasone]

Employers are discriminating against the military, how about this one, employers that only hire employee''s that have military spouses so they do not have to give medical benefits. My wife works for a female doctor in Encinitas that only hires employee''s after finding out if they already have medical benefits so discrimination goes both ways on this issue.

[us_army_bcks]

The Battle Command Knowledge System (BCKS) Professional Forum, Army Reserve Net (ARNet) team would like to encourage Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers to come to our website.

This is the place where you can discuss this topic in a PROFESSIONAL FORUM with YOUR PEERS who UNDERSTAND THESE PROBLEMS and can offer solutions.

All you need to participate is to log on with your same AKO User ID and password as you would with any other AKO website.

The discussion for this topic can be found by going to:http://tinyurl.com/bcksUSERRA

(The previously posted URL was broken so we used tinyurl to post one that will fit.)

Respectfully,
BCKS ARNet Forum Leader/Facilitator Team
[e-mail]

What is the Battle Command Knowledge System (BCKS)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCKS
BCKS CAC Homepage:
http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/BCKS
BCKS AKO Homepage:
https://bcks.army.mil
BCKS Forums:
https://forums.bcks.army.mil

[us_army_bcks]

The Battle Command Knowledge System (BCKS) Professional Forum, Army Reserve Net (ARNet) team would like to encourage Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers to come to our website.

This is the place where you can discuss this topic in a PROFESSIONAL FORUM with YOUR PEERS who UNDERSTAND THESE PROBLEMS and can offer solutions.

All you need to participate is to log on with your same AKO User ID and password as you would with any other AKO website.

The discussion for this topic can be found by going to:
https://forums.bcks.army.mil/secure/CommunityBrowser.aspx?id=688217&lang=en-US

Respectfully,
BCKS ARNet Forum Leader/Facilitator Team
[e-mail]

What is the Battle Command Knowledge System (BCKS)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCKS
BCKS CAC Homepage:
http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/BCKS
BCKS AKO Homepage:
https://bcks.army.mil
BCKS Forums:
https://forums.bcks.army.mil

[dm_inf]

Its easy to avoid a million dollar lawsuit like this--follow the law. The law requires an employer to reemploy a service member in a position of "like seniority, status, and pay" in which he would have been employed if his service had been continuous. 38 U.S.C. sec. 4313(a)(2)(A). In this case, the chief of police was not reemployed in a position of like seniority since he now had to answer to another level of management. The town clearly violated the law. Whether his claim for a million dollars is for a court to decide, but his claim seems legitimate on its face. Again, the lesson to employers is not to violate the law. And by the way, the law also forbids employers from deciding not to hire someone based on his or her membership in the reserves. 38 U.S.C. sec. 4311.

[rightflank-2009]

I was in the Reserves in the early 80''s, and rest assured, there was even problems back then with reservist-employer relations, and we were at "peace". Most of the problems encountered then were with working for small companies. I thought the reservists working for the government and big companies had it made, as their reserve pay was supplemented by their employer, and most of the time they did not lose vacation time. Some lucky ones also received full pay from their employer plus the military check! Working for a small employer I got by on my reserve check and sometimes used my own vacation time for training.(One of the reasons I did not re-up!) I feel sorry for those good people who have been through the ringer trying to get back on track and facing one obstacle after another. Sometimes no matter how good we think we can plan ahead for our future, the world is an unfair place and people will get shafted. Kudos to those companies who really try to help their people-the numbers who do so are rapidly decreasing! Also to those who are thinking of joining Reserve units-let this show be a reminder of what can possibly happen to you as YOU try to make that decision. Remember that the laws that are made to protect you do not always do that.

[specreserve]

I was so heated about this topic, I did not mention that I worked for the civilian employer I posted about earlier, for 11 YEARS..!! I am a SOLDIER....
How can I be a respected SOLDIER, if I do not "follow
directions?" The worst part of it is, the Dept. of Labor Representative, who held the Appeal hearing, ruled IN FAVOR of the civilian employer, AND, in turn for them TERMINATING me, my Unemployment was CUT OFF.!! So, here I am, with N-O-T-H-I-N-G-!!!!

[jeremyh81]

Specreserve I am sorry to hear that, the situation you are in is exactly what the law was designed and intended to prevent, it is unfortunate that you are in this situation while others (Sherwood, OR Chief of Police) attempt to exploit the "letter of the law", with personal gain rather than be happy they have a JOB!!!

[servewpride]

What kind of impression does a million dollar lawsuit give now?! Who wants to hire with that kind of risk?

[specreserve]

WOW. Way to put it out there. I am an Active Reservist in Georgia. I had the SAME THING happen to me, after reporting back to my civilian employer,way
back in JUNE, of this year. I was first told "We don''t have anything for you"....then,after talking to my Unit,The Dept. of Labor,AND USERRA, they all were asking me questions like I WAS AT FAULT. At the Dept. of Labor, the VA Rep told me to file for Unemployment. I did. I also filed an Appeal for the civilian employer laying me off. There was NO "lack of work" as they told the Dept. of Labor. ALL of the employees at the job were,and STILL ARE, working.!!
I started seeking a job,but it is now NOVEMBER
and I DO NOT have a job yet.! The Appeal hearing was in Sept. 2008, and it was at this time, the civilian employer decided that, "By the way, we have TERMINATED Mr. #######,as of AUGUST,2008, for NOT FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS"...!!! WHAT??!!!! I have lost my residence,about to lose my car, my credit took a dive,and all I keep hearing is,"Ther is nothing we can do for you".....This whole USERRA LAW is not being taken seriously. How can Units,on the other hand, NOT provide soldiers with some type of help?
This is like a bad dream and I hope to wake up.

[willyzee]

I am not sure exactly what the law says. I believe that it says you are entitled to your job without demotion or pay cut. The Police Cheif did get his job back and his pay has not been cut. I think it is a shame that the good people and town treated him that way, but that he has to report to someone is not a reason to be paid $1,000,000.00. Understand I am also a Veteran and think the town acted in it''s own best interest reguardless of the law, but did give him his job back. It is just sour grapes that he has to report to someone else now to a possition that didn''t exist before. Police Cheif when he left and Police Cheif when he returned.

[dm_inf]

By the way, I need to add something to my previous comment: the law is pretty clear that a reporting change is a violation. Again, the purpose of the Abrams doctrine is to ensure that the sacrifice required to fight a war is a shared one. That means that employers, public or private, need to recognize that they have to follow the law and ensure that reservists get their jobs back after they are demobed. Violations should be punished severely. I hate to use a cliche, but freedom isn''t free. Employers need to understand the price their employee/reservists pay when they are called up and be ready to support them, at least to the limits of the law.

[servewpride]

It deeply saddens me that there is so much division amongst members of the same service on this topic. No one should be ashamed to express an opinion and we are all supposed to be on the same team. That is why I believe it is imperative that a new administration is needed to fight this "war" so that we may come together and fight as one. I am an active duty officer who has served in Iraq as a helicopter pilot and leader of men and women, charged with saving lives and making decisions in the most stressful, austere environment in the world. This should not be an opportunity to exploit our civilian employment and try to win $1 million. Where does this figure come from? The top ranks in the military will never see that much money, and they do not serve for pay, and I strongly doubt that the Sherwood Police Chief would either. Disappointing.

[dm_inf]

What disturbs me about the situation discussed in this piece is that it does not mention the point of the military''s reliance on the reserve components. After Vietnam, the military converted to an all-volunteer force. Gen. Creighton Abrams decided that the Army should need to mobilize reserves to go to war. The point of the Abrams doctrine was to ensure that future wars would require the support of the American people since they might find their neighbors called to active duty. I have served in Iraq and am a veteran of both the active Army and the reserves. I have no sympathy for those who use the hardship that deployments impose on mobilized reservists as an argument against the war. Reservists have volunteered to serve and accept the possibility that they might be called to war. I should state that I do not support the war in Iraq, but not solely because of the strain it places on our reservists. My disagreement with it is based on the fact that it is bad for the U.S. strategically. However, no matter what my opinion is, we as a nation have committed to operations there and elsewhere. Since that is the case, I also have no sympathy for any employer who complains about the strains that are placed on them by having to comply with USERRA. We as a society must be willing to bear that cost since we, through our elected officials, have decided to go to war. The American people should be aware that anytime we go to war, our neighbors might have to go fight.

[dm_inf]

What disturbs me about the situation discussed in this piece is that it does not mention the point of the military''s reliance on the reserve components. After Vietnam, the military converted to an all-volunteer force. Gen. Creighton Abrams decided that the Army should need to mobilize reserves to go to war. The point of the Abrams doctrine was to ensure that future wars would require the support of the American people since they might find their neighbors called to active duty. I have served in Iraq and am a veteran of both the active Army and the reserves. I have no sympathy for those who use the hardship that deployments impose on mobilized reservists as an argument against the war. Reservists have volunteered to serve and accept the possibility that they might be called to war. I should state that I do not support the war in Iraq, but not solely because of the strain it places on our reservists. My disagreement with it is based on the fact that it is bad for the U.S. strategically. However, no matter what my opinion is, we as a nation have committed to operations there and elsewhere. Since that is the case, I also have no sympathy for any employer who complains about the strains that are placed on them by having to comply with USERRA. We as a society must be willing to bear that cost since we, through our elected officials, have decided to go to war. The American people should be aware that anytime we go to war, our neighbors might have to go fight.

[jeremyh81]

GREEDY

[twita7]

As a former Captain in the Army Reserve, I''d ask two things about two of the featured individuals in the story this evening on reemployment of deployed Reservists or National Guardsmen. What secondary monetary gain did the Oregon Chief of Police gain from his civilian government employment by being in military service? Also, did the nurse in question appreciate that she did not have to meet the established physical fitness standards of the military in order to maintain her commissioned officer pay as an O4. In addition, I would ask, does she not receive 30 days of "double-dipping" by the DVA while deployed? Are these two individuals patriotic or, as I may play devil''s advocate, GREEDY?

[jeremyh81]

As an individual who has served in both iraq and afghanistan with a spouse who has served in Iraq, brother who has served in afghanistan and a brother and sister in law who have also served in iraq, totaling 70 months in a combat zone, there is no shame in my FAMILY!!!!

[katmom9]

Apparently these civilian employers (there is no excuse for the VA) need to be reminded that the Guard/Reserve and the rest of the military are the reasons they are able to do business in the United States of America. If it weren''t for them, there would be no free country! Remember the Minutemen?
And I''m a little confused as to why Con-way Freight feels they need to continue the healthcare coverage for the active Guard member and his family. They should be 100% covered under TriCare for the entire time he''s active plus 180 days after he returns.