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thedrifter
04-07-07, 11:40 AM
Guard, reserve can get info on job rights
By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Apr 7, 2007 10:17:30 EDT

Members of the National Guard and reserve now can ask for assistance with their employment issues 24 hours a day through the Defense Department’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve office.

On the Web site www.esgr.mil/, click on “USERRA Complaint Request” on the right side of the page. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or USERRA, protects the employment rights of military reservists and prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of military service.

The service member provides contact information for himself and for the employer, and a brief explanation of the issue. Within 48 hours after the request is filed, a volunteer ESGR ombudsman will contact the service member. There are 900 ESGR ombudsmen in various locations around the country.

Service members still can use the ESGR toll-free customer service line at (800) 336-4590 to make a request or check on one. The line is manned 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, except for holidays.

If the ESGR ombudsman can not resolve the issue within 14 days, the service member will be referred to the Department of Labor, a federal agency with authority to enforce USERRA. Service members can also file complaints online at /vets1010.dol.gov/.

If Labor is unable to resolve the complaint, the service member can ask that the complaint be referred to the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates USERRA complaints related to federal employment, and, if warranted, brings them before the federal Merit Systems Protection Board. The Office of Special Counsel is also involved in a pilot program that allows it to investigate all USERRA federal government complaints filed by service members whose Social Security numbers end in an odd number. Those service members can file directly with OSC. Online complaint filing is not available, but information about filing is available online at www.osc.gov/.

Investigations related to other employers can be referred by the Labor Department to the Justice Department for action.

Ellie