August 29, 2004 in Region

Some veterans face job cuts back home

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SALEM, Ore. – Oregon’s soldiers are beginning to come home from war, and some are finding trouble getting their old jobs back.

Most left during a recession that forced many companies to lay off workers.

The veterans program at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Oregon office already has received 30 complaints involving Oregon reservists and National Guard members this year, up from an average of 23 per year the previous three years.

Federal law protects deployed servicemen’s job in most, but not all, cases.

Military and labor officials say most employers have protected the jobs of service men and women.

“Generally, employers are more aware of the law than they used to be, maybe because of all the coverage of the war,” said Bob Elliott, Oregon executive director of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. The federally funded organization uses volunteers to try to head off the disputes.

But some suffer anyway.

Army Sgt. Greg Gibb of Springfield is still job-hunting after losing his job with a propane company in May, days before he was to return from Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

“To come back from a deployment you didn’t really want, to find out you don’t have a job, I almost want to say it’s really degrading,” said Gibb.

Army Lt. Joe Sis of Eugene was laid off from an architecture firm while assigned to guard the stockpile of chemical munitions at the Umatilla Army Depot near Hermiston.

“They were the start of my architecture career,” Sis said. “And they were my sole source of livelihood. Andrea was home with the kids, and we were in the process of buying a house. I felt like a huge chunk of my life was just gone.”

Some employers do more than the law requires. Twin brothers Darin and Kevin Hassett both work for Weyerhaeuser in Eugene. Both reservists served in the Middle East.

Weyerhaeuser provided six months of extra pay and benefits and checked in with their families, Darin Hassett said.

“It takes a weight off your shoulders, knowing you have a job waiting for you when you get home, and that there’s all these extra benefits that help your family when you’re gone,” he said.

A 1994 law prohibits employers from discriminating against reservists with respect to hiring, retention, promotion or other benefits.

It also generally gives the reservist a right his job back but the laws often isn’t well-understood by employers.

Ombudsman Jack Cronise fields three to four complaints each week and most are resolved quickly.

Employers who re-employ a returning reservist also must give credit for seniority, reinstate health insurance and give injured soldiers a job they can do with status and pay equal to the one they left.

Job protection is not absolute.

Joe Sis was heartened by the parting words of his employer, TBG Architects. “They said, ‘If you need anything, just let us know.’ ” he said.

Three months later, he got the layoff notice.

Employers can terminate active duty soldiers under circumstances such as downsizing. The burden of proof is on the employer.

“Basically, the bottom line is the person must be treated as if they never left,” said Elliott.

TBG said Sis would have been laid off even if he hadn’t been away on active duty because of a sharp drop in business, principal partner John Lawless said. Sis was among five people who lost their jobs.

Sis acknowledged TBG’s tough financial times but said two less-experienced apprentices were retained.

Sis appealed to Cronise, who concluded he had no clear-cut case.

“The decision of who to lay off was an objective call on the part of the boss,” he said.

Sis, 35, has found a job with another Eugene firm. and has reached a settlement with TBG.

Gibb is still looking.

His company, Suburban Propane, was downsizing and his boss said Gibb had the least seniority.

Gibb says he wonders if his Guard membership is the problem.

He said he contacted the Department of Labor after his first Middle East deployment in 2000 when a former employer told him hiring a National Guard member spelled trouble.

Gibb, who is married, now is thinking about signing up for another tour of duty in Iraq.

“It’s not something I want to do,” he said. “But it’s one of the best options I have financially.”

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