Process for resolving claims by federal military reservists called too slow

The Office of Special Counsel took an average of 145 days to resolve allegations of by federal employees who serve as military reservists that they were unfairly denied the opportunity to return to their jobs after being called to active-duty service, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., asked GAO officials to conduct the study because of the large numbers of National Guard and reserve members returning from the war in Iraq and ongoing military operations in Afghanistan.

Specifically, Kennedy asked GAO to look into the OSC's operations, where discrimination claims can be referred if federal employees feel their cases have not been handled adequately by the Labor Department's Veterans' Employment and Training Service.

Kennedy sharply criticized OSC for its handling of the discrimination cases. In some situations, the special counsel took as long as 30 months to resolve cases, according to the senator's office.

"The federal civilian employees who are members of the Guard and Reserve deserve much better than this, especially now, when 15,000 have been called up to active duty because of the global demands from the war in Iraq," he said in a news release. "They're putting their lives on the line for our country, and it's outrageous that the Office of Special Counsel treats them so cavalierly when they return to their civilian jobs and are denied the pay and benefits they are owed."

The rights of reservists and National Guard members returning to work in the federal government are protected by the 1994 Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. That law-which guarantees that reservists and National Guard personnel can return to their jobs after completing their military service-does not mandate a time frame for OSC to process claims of violations.

GAO auditors studied claims that arose between 1999 and 2003. During that span, OSC officials reviewed 59 cases, and determined that five had merit.

OSC officials said they were preparing for an influx of new complaints and seeking ways to reduce the amount of time it takes to review cases, according to the GAO report. In April 2004, OSC established a Special Projects Unit that is designed to handle high priority complaints-including complaints that fall under the USERRA law. Labor Department officials also said they were looking into ways that OSC investigators could become involved in cases earlier in the process.

The Office of Personnel Management recently held a ceremony to publicize a renewed effort to uphold reservists' employment rights.