EDITORIAL: Supporting the Guard and Reserve

When members of the National Guard and Reserve return home from military duty, their jobs are protected. That’s the law.

Bob Benshoof is a volunteer working to make sure McLeod County employers are aware of the law. Fortunately, many employers understand it and comply with it.

But some are still fuzzy about it. “The idea is to get as many people informed as we can,” he said.
The law says service members must be promptly reinstated to their old jobs, or jobs of like seniority, status and pay, so long as they are qualified. They must be allowed to accumulate their seniority, have their health insurance reinstated, receive skills training or retraining, and be protected against discrimination.

Mr. Benshoof is one of 110 volunteers across Minnesota working to get the word out to public and private employers. Their mission is summed up by the name of the federal agency they serve: Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.

Going beyond what is required
The law the volunteers tell employers about is the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

“In many cases, we’re finding employers are exceeding the law,” Mr. Benshoof said. “We’ve had some marvelous things that employers have done.”

Some employers make up the pay differential between what their employees are paid while serving military duty and what their pay would be from their civilian job. Some employers go even further. They maintain insurance for service members’ families and make sure communication stays open with their employees engaged in military duty.

That’s good news for service members who shouldn’t have to worry about their jobs after supporting humanitarian relief efforts after a flood, maintaining law and order during a riot situation, or serving combat duty in Iraq. As the American military gets smaller, those who answer the call to serve need the assurance that there will be minimal interference between part-time military duties and their full-time civilian careers.

Mr. Benshoof, who lives in Hutchinson, talked to many employers at this year’s McLeod County Fair and asked them to sign up to not only comply with the law, but support it. Approximately half of the 45 employers listed below signed up during the fair.

Now he wants to find more employers who support the law. “We haven’t gotten to everybody,” he said. “We know there are a good number of employers out there who are just as good as the ones who have already signed up.”

Employers can learn more
McLeod County employers who want to learn more about Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve should call Mr. Benshoof at (302) 587-2531. Litchfield-area employers should call Marc Bailey at (320) 587-2341.

Employers will be recognized for their support, Mr. Benshoof said.

“We’re letting a community know,” he said, “that these employers support and do whatever is necessary to support the troops.”

Editorials are written by Publisher Matt McMillan and Editor Doug Hanneman. They can be reached at mcmillan@hutchinsonleader.com, or hanneman@hutchinsonleader.com.