RSSBy Karen Jowers – Staff writer – Military Times
Posted : January 29, 2007
http://www.navytimes.com/issues/stories/0-NAVYPAPER-2492289.php
Some employers, already pinched by mobilizations of workers who are in the reserves or National Guard, are saying privately they’ll be reluctant to hire new employee-reservists.
Discriminating against someone because of his military obligations is illegal, but 51 percent of employers who responded to an informal online poll by Workforce Management magazine said they would not hire an employee who is a citizen-soldier “if they knew that a military reservist or National Guard member could be called up and taken away from their job for an indeterminate amount of time,” as the question was posed.
On Jan. 11, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced major changes in the way America’s reserve forces are used, limiting any one involuntary mobilization to no more than 12 months but rescinding a policy that capped at 24 months the cumulative amount of time an individual could be involuntarily mobilized.
In other words, each involuntary mobilization will be shorter, but the number of times a reservist could be mobilized has no limit.
The intent, said David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, is to establish a predictable cycle for reservists of one year on active duty followed by five years at home. But that predictability is not there yet – some members will have to deploy sooner than they expected, while others will have to serve longer than they expected.
“This new policy will be the straw that broke the back of employer support for the Guard and reserve,” said Ted Daywalt, president of Vetjobs.com, a military-related job board sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Intent is one thing; actions another, he said.
“I would expect in the current situation that deployments will be more frequent and longer,” he said, adding that he understands the dilemma Pentagon officials face.
“In reality, for our Guard and reserve system to work, you have to have employer support,” he said. “Employers I’ve spoken to said they will support their current employees who are members of the Guard and reserve, but they are not looking to hire anyone else in the Guard and reserve.”
Daywalt said he has spoken to human resources managers at 11 companies, “and not one said they would support this policy – in fact, it will force them to do some things they do not want to do.
“I spoke with the vice president of human resources of a leading company who said they will not actively pursue members of the Guard and reserves for new positions. They want to support DoD and our Guard and reserve personnel, but they also have a fiduciary responsibility to their company and their stockholders.”
Daywalt said he is “appalled” by the numbers cited in the survey and is concerned about other indicators that employers are increasingly stretched by the deployments of their workers who are reserve and Guard members.
Workforce Management writer Gina Ruiz said 348 employers responded to the poll, which is not intended to be scientific.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars is hearing from some reserve and Guard members who say they will not stay in uniform because of the new policy, said Bill Dozier, assistant director of employment and homeless programs for the VFW’s National Veterans’ Service.
If you’re in the reserves or National Guard, go to www.militarycity.com/discussions to talk about your experiences with civilian employers.