foxdvd
Oct 3rd, 2001, 11:49:47 PM
http://www.freep.com/news/nw/terror2001/guard3_20011003.htm
BY DENNIS NIEMIEC AND PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
Given a choice of serving his country or staying at his manufacturing job, Capt. Brent Bohl went to Ft. Benning, Ga., for two weeks in August to train officer candidates for the Army National Guard.WHAT EMPLOYERS MUST PROVIDE
Some employer obligations under the Veterans Reemployment Rights Act and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
Leave of absence for the duration of the active duty must be granted to reservists and those who voluntarily enlist, up to a maximum of five years from the time of activation.
To be eligible, the reservist must notify the employer of the call to duty, reapply for employment within 90 days after separating from the service, satisfactorily complete service and be released under honorable conditions.
Reservists must be allowed to participate in insurance and other benefits.
Pension plan benefits must be offered to reemployed reservists as if no break in employment occurred.
An employer is prohibited from discharging a reservist without cause in the first 12 months after he or she returns.
For more information, contact the Office of Veterans Reemployment Rights at 313-876-5613.
His choice cost him his job.
Bohl, 31, says he was fired from his $60,000-a-year supervisory position at TI Group Automotive Systems in Warren because he had left the plant "to pursue an unapproved leave of absence," according to a letter from the company's human resources manager, Jason Paradowski. The company is a steel tubing supplier for the automotive industry.
The letter arrived at Bohl's home in Clinton Township while he was on duty. Bohl had completed two weeks of training earlier in the summer and had volunteered for another two weeks at the request of the National Guard.
Bohl's employer told him he could be fired if he went to the training, said Col. Gary Aten of the Michigan Committee for Employer Support for Guard and reserves.
The Department of Defense has notified the company that it violated federal law by firing Bohl, Aten said Tuesday.
Paradowski declined comment Tuesday and said company officials would call back later if they had a comment. They didn't call by Tuesday evening. "I feel betrayed," Bohl said Tuesday as he unpacked boxes at his new home in Roscommon. His wife, Stacy Bohl, has started a new job in the area as a school psychologist after he was fired.
"They hired me because they liked the fact I was an Army captain," said Bohl, who worked for the company about 18 months. "Then they fired me because of two weeks of training."
More than 20,000 reserves and Guard troops have been activated since Sept. 20, when President George W. Bush signed the order allowing the troops to be called up, primarily to defend the United States.
The call-up raises questions about the rights of employees in the military. Although firings for military service are rare, some National Guard members say they have been hassled by employers for missing work due to military assignments. Some have been encouraged to quit the military to concentrate on their jobs.
A reservist or Guard member who is called to active duty has a right to be reinstated in a job of equal pay and status, according to federal law. The law also protects reserves and Guard members when they leave their job to attend military training, whether it is voluntary or mandatory.
In the Bohl case, Aten said the employer violated the law in three ways. First, it refused to release Bohl for military training. Second, it's illegal to threaten employees with termination or other action if they attend military training. And third, it's illegal to terminate an employee for attending military training, Aten said.
"We told them, 'You've violated the law, and you need to reinstate him and bring him back,' " Aten said.
The Department of Defense does not have the power to enforce the law, however. The department can try to mediate a dispute between an employee and employer. If that fails, the Department of Labor may take the employer to court.
Bohl's case is not unique. "Unfortunately it happens too often," Aten said. "Probably thousands of times."
The biggest culprit, he said, is ignorance. "Once we let them know you can't fire an employee for going off to military duty, in most cases they bring them right back," Aten said.
Bohl, a Guard member for 11 years, said he is bitter at being fired but would go to training again under the same circumstances. He has retained an attorney in the matter.
Bohl began his military career as bugler in an Army Guard band. One of his assignments was to play taps at funerals. He attended a military officer candidate academy and served with intelligence and infantry units.
And, when he received a call to train infantry officer candidates, Bohl didn't hesitate.
"I figured I needed to do more for my country," Bohl said.
BY DENNIS NIEMIEC AND PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
Given a choice of serving his country or staying at his manufacturing job, Capt. Brent Bohl went to Ft. Benning, Ga., for two weeks in August to train officer candidates for the Army National Guard.WHAT EMPLOYERS MUST PROVIDE
Some employer obligations under the Veterans Reemployment Rights Act and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
Leave of absence for the duration of the active duty must be granted to reservists and those who voluntarily enlist, up to a maximum of five years from the time of activation.
To be eligible, the reservist must notify the employer of the call to duty, reapply for employment within 90 days after separating from the service, satisfactorily complete service and be released under honorable conditions.
Reservists must be allowed to participate in insurance and other benefits.
Pension plan benefits must be offered to reemployed reservists as if no break in employment occurred.
An employer is prohibited from discharging a reservist without cause in the first 12 months after he or she returns.
For more information, contact the Office of Veterans Reemployment Rights at 313-876-5613.
His choice cost him his job.
Bohl, 31, says he was fired from his $60,000-a-year supervisory position at TI Group Automotive Systems in Warren because he had left the plant "to pursue an unapproved leave of absence," according to a letter from the company's human resources manager, Jason Paradowski. The company is a steel tubing supplier for the automotive industry.
The letter arrived at Bohl's home in Clinton Township while he was on duty. Bohl had completed two weeks of training earlier in the summer and had volunteered for another two weeks at the request of the National Guard.
Bohl's employer told him he could be fired if he went to the training, said Col. Gary Aten of the Michigan Committee for Employer Support for Guard and reserves.
The Department of Defense has notified the company that it violated federal law by firing Bohl, Aten said Tuesday.
Paradowski declined comment Tuesday and said company officials would call back later if they had a comment. They didn't call by Tuesday evening. "I feel betrayed," Bohl said Tuesday as he unpacked boxes at his new home in Roscommon. His wife, Stacy Bohl, has started a new job in the area as a school psychologist after he was fired.
"They hired me because they liked the fact I was an Army captain," said Bohl, who worked for the company about 18 months. "Then they fired me because of two weeks of training."
More than 20,000 reserves and Guard troops have been activated since Sept. 20, when President George W. Bush signed the order allowing the troops to be called up, primarily to defend the United States.
The call-up raises questions about the rights of employees in the military. Although firings for military service are rare, some National Guard members say they have been hassled by employers for missing work due to military assignments. Some have been encouraged to quit the military to concentrate on their jobs.
A reservist or Guard member who is called to active duty has a right to be reinstated in a job of equal pay and status, according to federal law. The law also protects reserves and Guard members when they leave their job to attend military training, whether it is voluntary or mandatory.
In the Bohl case, Aten said the employer violated the law in three ways. First, it refused to release Bohl for military training. Second, it's illegal to threaten employees with termination or other action if they attend military training. And third, it's illegal to terminate an employee for attending military training, Aten said.
"We told them, 'You've violated the law, and you need to reinstate him and bring him back,' " Aten said.
The Department of Defense does not have the power to enforce the law, however. The department can try to mediate a dispute between an employee and employer. If that fails, the Department of Labor may take the employer to court.
Bohl's case is not unique. "Unfortunately it happens too often," Aten said. "Probably thousands of times."
The biggest culprit, he said, is ignorance. "Once we let them know you can't fire an employee for going off to military duty, in most cases they bring them right back," Aten said.
Bohl, a Guard member for 11 years, said he is bitter at being fired but would go to training again under the same circumstances. He has retained an attorney in the matter.
Bohl began his military career as bugler in an Army Guard band. One of his assignments was to play taps at funerals. He attended a military officer candidate academy and served with intelligence and infantry units.
And, when he received a call to train infantry officer candidates, Bohl didn't hesitate.
"I figured I needed to do more for my country," Bohl said.