employee / employer rights

[unionman729]

Does an employer have the legal ability to attempt coercion of NOT joining or participating in the guard? What rights does an employee have with regard to serving?

[AbnMtn]

An employer cannot in any way, shape or form coerce or attempt to prevent a person from joining the Armed Forces. I recently posted on a thread regarding this issue so I'm just pasting part of what I wrote there. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) prohibits discrimination in hiring, reemployment, retention, promotion, or other benefits of employment against a person because that person is a member of, applies to be a member of, performs, applies to perform, or has an obligation to perform service in any of the uniformed services. The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is an agency established to help in the resolution of problems arising from employers not understanding the laws that protect members of the National Guard. These are the law that protect Guardsmen from losing their job due to being sent away for training and also the agency that educate the businesses about the federal statutes that prohibit discrimination against employees who are, or are trying to become, members of the Armed Forces.

[matrixofandy2]

can a empolyer fire you because you did not tell them that you are joining the Millitary.my boss is saying that since i did not tell him till after i got in that he does not have to abide by the USERRA. i did not tell him because i was not sure if i was going to be able to get in till i was in. then i found out that i had RSP drills 8 days later.

[matthew.ritchie]

can a empolyer fire you because you did not tell them that you are joining the Millitary.my boss is saying that since i did not tell him till after i got in that he does not have to abide by the USERRA. i did not tell him because i was not sure if i was going to be able to get in till i was in. then i found out that i had RSP drills 8 days later.

Refer to www.esgr.org. The majority of employer issues can be worked out with communication and information. You don't need your employer's permission to join the Guard. USERRA applies whether he knew about it or not.

He's miffed that you had drill and he had little notice, and that's a legitimate point. I recommend that you apologise profusely, explain that this was a one-time occurance, and explain that you'll provide your drill schedule at least 12 months in advance.

Then go to the ESGR site and submit his name for the "My Boss is a Patriot (http://esgr.org/forms.asp?p=patriot)" certificate. Many crabby bosses can be charmed by this rather simple gesture.