Gordon Graham
Category: Public Safety
Gordon Graham here with Today’s Tip from Lexipol. Today’s Tip is for everyone in public safety, and it’s about taking care of our employees who wear a different uniform.
Desiring to serve your community often goes hand-in-hand with desiring to serve your country. Because of this, we see a higher percentage of service members in our ranks than in most other professions.
“Treat service members fairly, follow the law, and respect the work they do to keep us all safe.”
Whether active duty, reserve, or National Guard, military service members are protected by a law known as the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act – USERRA for short. This federal law protects employees from retaliation and discrimination based on military service. With limited exceptions, it requires reemployment after an absence of up to 5 years for military service. This includes training and voluntary service. The law also protects employers by requiring advance notice of the leave and return-to-work procedures.
In addition to the federal law, many states offer additional protections for service members, and some even provide for paid military leave.
So what does that mean for you? It may complicate your scheduling or require overtime when a member is on military leave. But that’s no reason to give them a hard time, require them to find their own shift coverage, or deny them the time off. In fact, all those things are prohibited. If you don’t already have one, your organization should develop a military leave policy to guide staff in complying with state and federal laws.
Aside from legal requirements, you should recognize your employees who are currently serving, as well as the veterans in your agency. Between their dedication to service and their understanding of concepts such as the chain of command, the experience these folks bring to your organization is invaluable. Their background in high-stress and high-stakes situations can be extremely useful in our line of work.
The bottom line: Treat service members fairly, follow the law, and respect the work they do to keep us all safe.
And that’s Today’s Tip from Lexipol. Gordon Graham signing off.
