Originally Posted by
jumppilot71
Yes, everyone is required to, but not all are friendly with it and there are many ways to screw a military guy over if he has to leave. You've never had to deal with that. How do I know you've never dealt with it? You wouldn't have made that statement. It's a widespread problem. I don't meant in the airline industry specifically. I'm talking all around, you'll find companies that either don't know the law or they are fully aware of it and do things to get around it. I've seen guys not get hired because there was a chance they'd have to leave for a deployment. Of course that's not what they were told. The guy doing the hiring was military and told me thats why he didn't hire them. I told him he was a hipocrite and he didn't understand why I said that. There are some real tools out there.
Yeah, about two years ago I had an interview with a regional just prior to a six month deployment. I told the regional about this, and that was no problem as they were hiring into a pool. Well my base called, and I needed to come in for some darn last minute requirement prior to the deployment....well that happened to be the day of my interview. I contacted HR via email (as we had been emailing back and forth prior). All they said was "Apply again in six months." No, "can we reschedule", "be safe." Nothing.
Then when I got back from my deployment my current employer, also a regional, refused to get me recurrent or pay me!! I told them not only was what they were doing immoral, but also ILLEGAL..I included links to USERRA websites. I contacted the union...nothing. Finally after a couple months of futile attempts to handle the problem at the lowest level, I contacted a USERRA rep. THEY WERE AMAZING. They were prompt, polite, and kicked some butt.
Morals of the story....
-Veterans still get crap, despite all the teary, sappy stuff a company might advertise. Plan accordingly.
-Do your part to notify your employer before and after being on orders. Do this early as a courtesy, but also immediately before leaving and after returning. I'd probably notify a minimum of two people per contact.
-Email saved my rear. Everything was docmented for the USERRA rep. Save ALL emails both outgoing and incoming. You show that you did your job and that the company acknowledged you.
End rant.