Military Officer - December 2008 - (Page 41) chaptersinaction brief local business owners about the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), which explains what benefits employers must maintain after a Guard or Reserve employee is called to active duty. USERRA also provides Guard and Reserve servicemembers with job protection and reinstatement rights. Employers then are asked to post an ESGR statement of support, indicating they’ll abide by USERRA and support their Guard and Reserve employees. “It hasn’t been hard to get employers in Louisiana to sign ESGR statements of support,” says Humphries, who estimates more than 800 employers signed statements in the first three quarters of 2008. “The Guard has had a visible presence here [recently]. After [Hurricane] Gustav hit Louisiana in August, we had National Guard troops in the streets of Baton Rouge guarding drugstores and other businesses. After that, business owners were signing statements of support.” help fulfill the ESGR mission, which includes briefing the state’s Guard and Reserve members about their rights and responsibilities under USERRA, both pre- and post-deployment. “Educating employers and servicemembers about their rights under [USERRA] is important,” says Ryan. “It helps both parties understand what they need to do and hopefully avoids potential conflicts.” Ore., rewrote the county’s employee handbook, so firefighters and lawenforcement officers who serve in the Guard or Reserve can resume their duties more quickly following a deployment, which should help reduce problems that often require mediation. Norton also briefs employers, Guard and Reserve servicemembers, and military families about their rights and responsibilities under USERRA. Fellow chapter member Brig. Gen. Norm Hoffman, ARNG-Ret., briefs employers in Lane County about USERRA and encourages them to post an ESGR statement of support. Hoffman, vice chair of administration for Oregon’s ESGR, also encourages servicemembers to nominate their employers for the ESGR’s Patriot Award. “During a deployment, the only thing a Guard or Reserve member should be thinking about is the mission,” says Hoffman. “My goal is to make it so our servicemembers don’t have to worry about the home front, because they know they’ll have a job when they get home.” Resolving conflicts When conflicts arise between Guard and Reserve servicemembers and their employers, trained ESGR volunteers address the problems through informal mediation. Emerald Empire (Ore.) Chapter member Lt. Col. Richard Norton, USAF-Ret., an ESGR mediator, says Oregon has the thirdhighest number of cases between Guard and Reserve servicemembers and their employers, and volunteers are working to reduce the amount of time it takes to mediate these cases. Recently, Norton and the director of human resources for Lane County, A history of support Members of the Army and Navy Club of Grand Rapids, Mich., have led efforts to gain and maintain employer support in Western Michigan. Col. Eugene Raab, USAF-Ret., chartered the ESGR’s Western Michigan region with the help of late member Capt. Donald Johnson, USNR. Six chapter members are ESGR volunteers and perform tasks ranging from plugging the ESGR on radio talk shows to organizing Boss Lifts, in which employers visit military facilities so they can see what their Guard and Reserve employees do when they’re called to serve. Chapter member Capt. Paul Ryan, USNR-Ret., state chair for the Michigan ESGR, oversees three full-time ESGR staff members and more than 100 volunteers who Get Ready, Get Set, Go! THE 2009 GIVE ME 10! CAMPAIGN launches Jan. 1, 2009, and several improvements are planned for the yearlong campaign. The quarterly awards have changed. The top-recruiting council in each of the four regions now will receive $500, and the top-recruiting independent chapter in each region will receive $250. We’ve changed the requirements for winning “A Night Out With MOAA.” Now, councils that have two-thirds of their chapters recruit 10 or more new members will receive “A Night Out With MOAA.” A new “double-down” recruiting incentive gives chapters $20 instead of $10 for each new paid membership. We’re also providing chapters with gold insignia bars that can be presented — along with a free, one-year MOAA membership — to graduating ROTC cadets from units the chapter supports. Details about this pilot program are being worked out now. Visit www.moaa.org/givemeten to learn more. DECEMBER 2008 MILITARY OFFICER 41 http://www.moaa.org/givemeten
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