THE Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Guam-CNMI Committee briefed servicemembers regarding their rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act at the Army Reserve on Sunday.
Thirty-seven members of the Echo Company, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry, U.S. Army Reserve participated in the presentation at 10 a.m. that was conducted by ESGR Guam-CNMI area chair Rita A. Sablan, Ed.D., ombudsman Joann Aquino and employer outreach coordinator Rose Igitol.
Sablan provided them an overview of the ESGR which was established in 1972, and its vision which is “to develop and promote a culture in which all American employers support and value the military service of their employees.”
She also discussed the employment rates among servicemembers, and how ESGR has been providing services to the Guard and Reserve which comprise one-third of the total U.S. military force.
The state chairman of the ESGR committee in the region is retired Lt. Col. Rey Llaneta; vice chair, retired Maj. Gen. Benny Paulino; chair emeritus and employer outreach, Donald Clark; CNMI area chair, Rita Sablan, Ed.D.; ombudsman director David Sablan; military outreach, ret. U.S. Air Force CCM Gerard Damian; training director, Dina San Nicolas; and public affairs director, Deborah Weger.
The ESGR Guam-CNMI team serves Guam Army National Guard, U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Navy Reserve, Guam Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force Reserve and the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve.
Joann Aquino discussed the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act or USERRA, and fielded questions from servicemembers regarding their employment in the private and public sectors.
Aquino said the USERRA, which became law on Oct. 13, 1994, dates back to 1940 when Congress passed the Selective Training and Service Act.
She said federal law aims to ensure that persons who serve or have served in the armed forces, Reserve, National Guard or other uniformed services (1) are not disadvantaged in their civilian careers because of their service; (2) are promptly reemployed in their civilian jobs upon their return from duty; and (3) are not discriminated against in employment based on past present, or future military service.
In an interview after the presentation, Aquino said as ombudsman, she provides information, consultation and mediation.”
“We are neutral and do not represent the employer or the service member,” she added. “We listen to the servicemembers’ concerns, and get their permission to speak to their employers. We listen to both sides of the story and inform both parties about what the USERRA law states with regard to their concerns. We mediate and try to get parties to come to a compromise and hopefully everything works out well in the end.”
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Guam-CNMI area chair Rita A. Sablan, second right, ombudsman Joann Aquino, second left, and ESGR employer outreach coordinator Rose Igitol, right, pose for a photo with members of the Echo Company, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry of the U.S. Army Reserve after a presentation on Sunday at the Army Reserve Center in Puerto Rico, Saipan.
