Saw an interesting article in last week’s Navy Times that backs up what this Navy reservist wife has been saying for the last two years.
Overt discrimination in employment and re-employment stemming from employer ignorance of reservists’ legal rights has diminished, but more subtle discrimination is on the rise, says the executive director of the Reserve Officers Association.
Retired Army Maj. Gen. David Bockel, who took over as executive director of the 70,000-member group in November, said outreach to employers has helped them better understand dthe legal rights of National Guard and reserve members. But it hasn’t stopped more devious forms of discrimination, he said.
“They may not ask you, for example, during a hiring interview if you are in the reserves,” he said. “Instead, they may ask about what you like to do in your free time or what you do on the weekend if they suspect you are in the reserves.”
He said he hears enough complaints from reservists about problems getting hired to believe many employers would prefer not to hire someone who may be mobilized.”
The article goes on to say that ROA has several employment-related initiatives on its legislative agenda for 2011 including tax credits for employers to offset the cost of hiring temporary replacements for deployed employees, as well as subsidizing health care and paying differential expenses.
All ideas I’ve heard before but I still don’t think they do enough to inspire employers to hire employees who have the potential to be called away at any time. And in this tight economy, where employers have their pick of potential candidates for a job, the incentives need to be great. Serious tax-credits are needed for small businesses especially (I believe at least one proposal is coming up in Congress on this issue).
More also needs to be done on a local level. I know the ESGR stays busy but more is needed than passing out certificates and patting businesses on the back. I’d like to see one of these associations put together an ad campaign – perhaps even utilizing the grassroots connections of Beyond the Yellow Ribbon to support the hiring (not just the job protection) of Guard and Reserve.
Let’s pray it gets better soon.
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I think this is a big issue, not only with reservists, but with active duty spouses too for the same reasons. Employers don’t want to invest time in training spouses when they probably will be leaving in the next 2-4 years. This is a perfect example of why portable careers are so important.