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Jobs left open for U.S. troops under federal law, IU professor says
Sept. 19, 2001
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- President George W. Bush on Monday (Sept. 17) announced plans to call up 35,000 military reservists to active duty. Despite growing concerns about the economy, their jobs should be waiting for them, according to a professor in Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.
A federal law requires employers to extend the same or an equivalent job to troops returning from a call-up, depending on the length of service. Terry Morehead Dworkin, IU professor of business law, said that troops now preparing for possible military action in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks need not think about how service to their country affects their careers.
Under the terms of the 1994 Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act, reservists serving less than 91 days should be returned to the position of employment they would have been in without the interuption. If they serve more than 90 days, they should be returned to the same position or an equivilent position with like seniority, status and pay.
Dworkin acknowledges that the law provides some challeges for employers, many of whom are paring their work forces due to a slowdown in the economy.
"The fact that we may be going into a recession puts more burden on the employer," Dworkin said. "The employer is going to have to either hire people on the condition that they may be terminated when the reservist comes back, use temporaries or cover with current workers. This is not a particularly happy position for employers to be in."
In addition to his announcement Monday, Bush on Friday signed an order authorizing the call-up to active duty of up to 50,000 reservists.
"Many issues, such as elimination of specific jobs, also arose after the Persian Gulf and Vietnam wars. In general, issues of interpretation of the law have been resolved by the courts in favor of returning reservists," Dworkin said.
(George Vlahakis, 812-855-0846, gvlahaki@indiana.edu)