UPDATE: Here is the survey link I promised. If you are a Guard or Reserve member currently unemployed, or your spouse who is a Guard or Reserve member is, please take my survey.
Next month will mark one year that my husband has been without a full time job. His position was eliminated by his employer six months after he got back from his deployment to Iraq.
His position was never filled while he was gone and apparently the employer decided they didn’t need his position after all. They of course cited budget cuts, which is just about the only reason you can use when laying off a service member.
For the first six months he was job searching, we kept his reserve status on his resume. After all, military experience looks good to prospective employers, right? That’s what we thought anyway.
But after six months of not one phone call or email, let alone an interview request, we began to think otherwise. I began searching for information. There seemed to be plenty of organizations and companies looking for veterans – but what about veterans who still serve? For those Reserve and Guard members who have served in a war zone and returned, continuing on with their weekend drills and occasional trainings, employment is getting a lot harder to come by.
In a way, it’s hard to blame the employer. Of course they want their employees to stick around and legally, they’re not allowed to discriminate against Reserve or Guard members when it comes to hiring. But if you have two resumes before you with equal skills and equal experience and one is a reservist or guard member and the other isn’t – which would you choose? And no one could ever prove your choice was based on a concern that one applicant might have to leave for an extended amount of time.
I actually called someone in the Department of Labor last fall and asked him if there were any incentives out there for employers to hire currently serving Reserve or Guard members. The only thing he could think of was a tax incentive of $1600 for an employer who hired a member of the military but it came with a stipulation. The service member had to be on food stamps for at least six months before getting hired. Oh, and the same tax incentive also applied to ex-convicts.
Okay, all of this to say that I am working on an article about this very issue for Military Spouse Magazine and I need your help! I don’t know how many studies have been done so far on this issue, but since I haven’t been able to find much, I would like to hear from as many of you as possible. If you are a Guard or Reserve member (or the spouse of one) and you are currently unemployed, or you have dealt with unemployment issues recently, please contact me (sara at sarahorn.com) and share with me your family’s story. I may use it for my article, and who knows – if we get enough of them, maybe we’ll just take them to Washington.
It is past time that something was done!
Send me your story or your thoughts on this issue by June 10. Also, check back in a couple of days for a survey I hope to have posted that you can participate in. Please spread the word!
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Your blog address was posted on Lifeway.com today. I hope you and your family have a great Memorial Day. Thank you for your comments and thank your husband for his service. God bless you and your family.
In His Love,
Barbara Fuller
Tylertown, MS
We did deal with this issue for nearly three months after my husband go back. His job before he left had been a temporary position so, it was not renewed while he was gone. When he came back budget cuts did not allow his unit to hire him back like he had expected. I think it hit him harder than he is willing to admit openly. No job combined with this being his first deployment, affected us in ways that we were not prepared for. Fortunately, he is back to work full time now. At least until the budget starts over in October. I have spoken to many women whose husbands are facing the same issue.
I haven’t gotten to check everything out on your new website yet, but what I have seen I love!
Thanks for your work,
Amber
You are not alone, and I am exhausted trying to get someone to listen. My son, A USAF reservist, deployed to Iraq, and upon return was convinced that the “support your troops” mentality would help him get back into the groove.After about 2.5 years active, He has begged for orders, but because he is 100 miles out, they will not give him any as it is cheaper to get local guys, citing no money. He has pounded the pavement looking for a job, nothing. I firmly believe that there is discrimination by employers who do not want to deal with the military thing….all kinds of clearances etc, can;t even land a gig as a security guard….sorry more qualified person……you got to be kidding me. Add insult to injury, he is not entitled to Unemployment benefits in Florida, as he did not have enough work credit……like getting tossed over in an MRAP by an IED is not work?…..THE LOCAL CONGRESSMAN IS NON EXISiSTENT, and is busy trying to be a senator. Local VFW no help, media dosen’t care. Oh yeah and he hasn’t been payed for UTA in 2 months…I have to pay for his trip there, and last month I had to pay for his housing as they never reserved accommedations. I have given them my only son, and now have to pay for his service to the country.
They don’t need care packages with baby wipes..they need respect and a job.
Knowing what I know now…no way would I allow him to go reserve……no way….