The Effects of Reserve Call-Ups on Civilian Employers
Abstract
The military reserves provide trained service members and units that are available for active military duty during peacetime and war. Over the past decade, the Department of Defense (DoD) has dramatically increased its reliance on the reserve forces, particularly since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The reserves are integral to current operations. Of service members deployed in December 2006 in Iraq and Afghanistan, about 25 percent were reservists, and that figure has risen to more than 33 percent at times since the conflicts began. The total number of reservists called up through March 2007 exceeded 580,000. In addition, DoD foresees continued reliance on the reserves, possibly increasing the involvement of the Army National Guard in the coming year. (Throughout my testimony, reserves refers to the individual services National Guard and reserve components: the Air Force Reserve, the Air National Guard, the Army Reserve, the Army National Guard, the Marine Corps Reserve, and the Navy Reserve.) Yet many reservists, when they joined the military, probably did not anticipate the increased frequency and duration of the activations that have occurred during the past several years and may be finding those mobilizations more disruptive than they might have expected. To alleviate difficulties with call-ups, the Congress has enacted legislation to provide civil and employment protections and financial relief. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), the primary legislation governing service members employment rights, guarantees the right of reservists to be reemployed by their civilian employer after serving on active duty, prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals in any aspect of employment because of their service in the reserves, and mandates some continuation of benefits to reservists who have been activated.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 17, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA468047
Entities
People
- Heidi Golding
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office