hindsight2020

Hey folks,


Currently considering TR employment with one of the associate units under the 340th FTG and one of the more pressing questions in my mind right now is the issue of civilian employment.

If I end up going forward with the position I would be commuting to the gig and as you know, the current policy for the group is pretty much 6 days a month and probably one trip a month paid, which implies a consecutive 6 day stretch a month in order to make it economically viable. An airline pilot probably has no problem flexing the schedule to accommodate pockets of days off the airline and/or dropping trips with mil leave in order to fulfill this requirement. But what about the 9-5 guy? What's our avenue?

I'm currently a trougher in my current unit so I haven't really exercised the option of a true commuting TR before. I'm knee deep in USERRA research right now and my wife thinks I'm up the creek; she contends I'd be essentially unemployable because no civilian employer will be willing to allow an employee to work a stretch of 4-5 weekdays a month and be allowed in their payroll. She also raised the point that I'd never be able to prove I was not given the position because of this service requirement i.e. they can say whatever they want to be the reason I was not offered employment.

Do any of you pursue traditional weekday work and commute to these UPT locales? What is the agreement with your employer?

I'm reading the FAQ on the USERRA website and while it reads pretty clear on the fact I don't have to ask permission to perform military service, the sections pertaining to initial hiring seem weak at best. It essentially does not tackle my wife's angle that I would never be able to prove such discrimination, essentially making me unemployable.

Look folks, I still owe the better part of a decade to the Reserves, so I am somewhat disconcerted that either a potential civilian employer and/or the Reserves itself would implement punitive hiring decisions against my person because of the scheduling impasse inherent with asking a civilian employer for one full business week off a month to serve my country. I still need to feed my family, so am at a loss to the proposition of not being able to find gainful civilian employment because nobody will touch me with a 6-day a month commitment hanging over my head.

Any help would be appreciated. Also any SA on who could answer these questions on base? I'm about to talk to somebody because I don't intend on getting blindsighted by this issue in the near future come interview time.

Thanks folks.

LivingInMEM

What is the legality of them asking about that?

I did the 340th thing and they do expect the 6 days/month which worked out to Sun through Fri for me most of the time. They look at the annual total to see compliance (72 days/yr) and even then give you a letter saying to do better next year. With that in mind, you may be able to do 10 or 11 short trips and one longer trip. You could also do the 6 days over a weekend (less weekdays missed) if you do a X-C. They do have rules about the length of the trip based on how the travel was paid (UTA travel vs MPA travel).

hindsight2020

Did you have a non-airline civilian employer? My concern is not so much the 6 days a month so much as it is the weekday requirements and how to handle the civilian employer.

Is the potential civilian employer even legally allowed to ask me during an interview if I have membership in the US Armed Forces? My wife seems to think the whole concept of withholding from the potential employer during the interview my membership in the AFRES and the existence of this monthly service requirement, then dropping it on their desk on day one, is simply not gonna fly. I rather not deal with that kind of underhanded approach, but how am I supposed to feed my family if civilian employers refuse to allow Reservist from serving inside the hours of 9-5 Mon thru Fri?!¿

USMCFLYR

I appauld your approach to this problem and agree with the tactics used, but maybe the question is that you need to find a job that WILL allow you to have those days available for the Reserves rather than basically tricking your way into a job and then dropping this hidden bomb in their lap.
That is a way to turn civilian employers against our Reserves.
We often ask for fairness from employers when dealing with us - but tricking them like this doesn't sound like a better tactic than what is often used against the employees.
These civilian employers are trying to feed their families to and make a living and I'm sure it is hard to do that if you invest in an employee and then they are not there for the purpose that you hired them for in the first place.

It is a tough situation no doubt. I hope that you are able to find employment that will allow you to met your goals and the employer can be proud and successful in hiring a Reservist at the same time.

USMCFLYR

LivingInMEM

I started with s non-airline job and I used a gov't ticket every trip. My employer tried to ask about expected participation, but I kept my answer vague without lying. I did that weekend thing. Other non-airline guys did the weekend thing and several of them did work on-line in the evenings.

LivingInMEM

I disagree that not being forthcoming about the specifics of mil job during an interview is being underhanded. Be a well, not a fountain. You have not been offered the job, you don't what the details of the job are or how flexible the management is, you haven't had an opportunity to see how you can best merge the two with minimal interference to the civilian employer, etc. Get the job first, then work it out by giving the boss options.

hindsight2020

What agreement did you have with them pertaining the weekdays you were away at UPT? Did you simply went on mil leave and they docked your pay for those 5 days?

LivingInMEM

Affirm. I tried to work extra where it made sense (weekends, at home, etc) to "pay the leave forward" when I could. As I also said, two others would work on the evenings while at the base to lessen the impact of them being gone.

While many expect traditional weekend-only participation from Reservists, many understand the additional requirements of pilots when it's explained to them.

BTW, I'd also look into whether that duty is "involuntary" with respect to USERRA since it's mandated.

navigatro

I agree with LivinginMem. You must disclose your Military affiliation at a job interview, but you only need to say that you are a traditional reservist. If taking 6 days/month creates "problems" once you get the job, then it could become an uncomfortable environment, regardless of legal protections. There are clearly some jobs where it would be very difficult to take lots of mil leave. I think there is a reason that most Guard/Reserve pilots are either airline pilots or work a government job. Ultimately, you need to do what is best for you and your family.

hindsight2020

My initial plan of action was to vest myself at the current unit and obtain full-time employment so as to avoid these very issues. Seems that outcome does not look attainable in a timely fashion (I do not intend to trough for the rest of my life) so I'm forced to look into the TR gig with a civi employer.

My initial preference is to have a government position (GS-) regardless of whether its DOD affiliated or not. Has it usually been y'alls experience that GS positions (assuming not ART or otherwise related to the AFRES) tend to be more accommodating to such monthly requirements? How about private defense contractors?

Appreciate the feedback greatly. I'll keep all these things in mind when the time comes to pull the trigger job-wise. It sucks having to snag and coordinate TWO jobs in order to make ONE job change...somebody tell these civilian employers that freedom ain't free you know.....it ain't like I'm asking for a week off work to go exotic fishing in Venezuela every month...