There are many important resources that Guard and Reserve families should know about. One of these is the ESGR, which stands for Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve.
Like many G/R spouses , I haven’t always had a firm grasp on what the ESGR does, or how it matters to me. I’ve heard its acronym tossed around at pre-deployment and homecoming briefings and may have seen a couple of brochures or fliers on it but that’s the extent. It’s gotten my attention a little more, however, since my husband was laid off a year ago from his civilian job.
The mission of ESGR is to “gain and maintain active support from all public and private employers for the men and women of the National Guard and Reserve.”
These are the folks who do the Patriot Awards, awards given to top-notch employers nominated by their G/R employees, recognizing the support they show. Frankly, my perception of them has been that they are the cheerleaders who hold pom poms in hand, ready to cheer for any employer who does what they’re supposed to do and offers them a certificate and a press release letting everyone else know that they’re doing what they’re supposed to do.
If I sound a little cynical, I may be. During my research and reporting for an article about Guard and Reserve members dealing with unemployment that will come out in next month’s issue of Military Spouse, ESGR was brought up several times in my interviews and not always positively. Two Air Guard members I talked to via email who struggled with unemployment issues received no help from the ESGR.
Their 2008 annual report shed a little light on some things for me. There are about 1.3 million Guard and Reserve members and 125,000 employers of those G/R members. I’ve read somewhere that that’s only about 1% of the businesses in America. So just as our citizen soldiers feel a bit like fish out of water sometimes, I could surmise that employers of those soldiers do as well. (It also possibly explains why G/R members are having such a tough time finding new jobs – if their former company has shut down or gone bankrupt, well, that makes that 1% even smaller…)
One chart in the report had me a little confused though. 
According to the key, the red bars stand for number of requests made for assistance, the orange bars for number of info only calls, the blue bars for number of cases assigned and the green bars number of cases mediated.
From the chart, it looks like the number of requests for assistance far outweigh the number of cases actually assigned and I wanted to know why. So I called the ESGR and was able to get in touch with Major Melissa Phillips, who is the chief of strategic communications there. She explained that the chart is a little misleading because if you add up the numbers, the number of cases assigned and the requests for info only actually total the red bar, the number of requests for assistance.
Those calling in for information could be employers or employees and may just have a question, not an issue, according to Major Phillips; those cases actually assigned are situations where there is an issue between an employer and an employee that requires assistance.
But let’s look a little closer – if you look at 2006 and 2007, there is a huge jump in the number of requests, and in the years since, the number of cases have actually decreased. Major Phillips attributed all of this to an increase in branding and awareness on the part of ESGR. I’m honestly not convinced and I’ll tell you why in a minute.
So I asked, how does a case get assigned?
“It’s strictly based on the law with USERRA,” said Major Phillips. “We obtain the information; our ombudsmen are very educated on the law and undergo lots and lots of training. Sometimes it doesn’t become a case – ESGR often serves as a mediator to resolve conflict or disputes. We’re not the enforcement piece, the Department of Labor (DOL) is. If the service member isn’t happy, doesn’t get the solution they want, they can go to DOL.”
But let’s take a look at a couple of other areas of the report. In 2008, “Statements of Support” – a declaration signed by an employer signifying support for G/R employees – jumped by almost 25,000, a huge increase if you look at the chart.
If branding and awareness efforts have made such an impact, then what about the Patriot Awards, awards issued to employers because they’ve been nominated by their appreciative and grateful employees? Its graph also tells a story, I think.
If Guard and Reserve employers are signing statements of support hand over fist, then why isn’t there an increase in Patriot Award nominations? (To be fair, I hadn’t thought of this question when I spoke with Major Phillips. My husband jokingly added that since so many Guard and Reserve members are becoming unemployed, there’s less members to turn in awards. He may be right!)
A statement of support is only as good as the support that is behind it. When I was working on my book Weekend Warrior No More, I heard stories both bad and good of employers who did the minimum to employers who went way beyond the requirements of support. I recognize that the economic conditions our employers face right now make it a lot tougher for them, but it also makes it tougher for our Guard and Reserve members.
As I was reading through the ESGR’s report, one more thing surprised me. On page 8, under “Organization”, they describe the volunteers and the objectives that make up the ESGR. The paragraph ends with this statement:
ESGR is the lead advocate within the Department of Defense for Reserve Component employers.
If ESGR is representing the employers, then who is representing Guard and Reserve members ?
Join me tomorrow as I share an interview I did with Matthew Tully, a major in the New York National Guard and someone who has dedicated his career as an attorney in helping and assisting Guard and Reserve members who have experienced employment discrimination because of their military service. It didn’t make it into the article, but it definitely needs to be shared.
If you are an ESGR volunteer or a G/R employer or someone who has had a positive experience with ESGR, please post a comment and share your story or insights. Or, if you’ve had a bad experience with ESGR, please share as well. I’m interested in hearing from as many people as possible.
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Great post,
I know in my experience with the Mass Guard I have had to refer several of my soldiers to the ESGR and I will say that I have had some positive outcomes. In most of the cases the layoffs were in regards to missed shifts etc. due to Guard weekends or training events and when I reported with the soldier positive action was taken.
I am not sure if it is state dependent on response and action however, the Massachusetts office has always followed up and followed thru on reports. Though I can’t speak for the whole state, my experiences have been good thus far!
Look forward to hearing what others say…
Sean
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