Cohen to agencies: Support reservists

Federal agencies need to do more to become "model employers" for government employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve, according to Defense Secretary William Cohen and Labor Secretary Alexis Herman.

Cohen and Herman sent a memo to department heads July 6, asking all agencies to actively support their employees involved in the National Guard beyond the requirements established in the 1994 Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

USERRA was enacted to protect the civilian job rights of reservists. Under USERRA, employees must be granted leave for guard or reserve duties and must be allowed to return to their jobs after their service is completed.

For service of less than 31 days, the service member must return at the beginning of the next regularly scheduled work period on the first full day after his or her release from service. For service of more than 30 days but less than 181 days, the service member must submit an application for reemployment within 14 days of release from service. For service of more than 180 days, an application for reemployment must be submitted within 90 days of release.

Lt. Col. Jeff Davis, public affairs director at the National Committee for Employer Support of the National Guard, said the memo encourages federal managers to go beyond the letter of the law and be fully supportive of employees' Guard and Reserve duties.

"We want to be able to [point to] the federal government and say 'Hey, this is the way it should be done,' " he said. "It's difficult to ask civilian employers to be supportive when certain federal agencies aren't."

In his letter, Cohen said "federal employers and supervisors should set the example for the private sector to emulate in flexibility, communication and support to their employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve."

Davis said the biggest challenge with drumming up employer support for the Guard and Reserve is lack of awareness.

"Most employers are not supportive because they don't understand how important the Reserve is," he said. "Not only are they working for you but they're working for the nation's defense and that's important."

More than 260,000 members of the National Guard and Reserve served in Operation Desert Storm, and 17,000 have been called to active duty to support the peacekeeping operation in Bosnia.