LATHAM:
Tell me a little bit about what you do in the Iowa National Guard.
DAVE CAMPBELL:
I'm actually a Department of Defense volunteer and we provide education and when necessary, mediation when it comes to employers and employees — to employers that employ Guard and reserve troops.
LATHAM:
Were you in the National Guard at one point?
DAVE CAMPBELL:
I was. I spent three years active and 22 years in the National Guard. But I've been out for over ten years now and so this is just my opportunity to give back.
LATHAM:
What do you do at your job?
DAVE CAMPBELL:
Well, what we do is we brief the troops when they come on to active duty. And then we brief the troops when they come off of active duty. We also try to keep the families informed. And while the soldier is off, we also communicate with their employers. So we're basically a middle man trying to make sure that everybody keeps everybody informed.
LATHAM:
What are the obligations that a soldier has to the employer? And the employer?
DAVE CAMPBELL:
Well, a soldier has, upon return from active duty, a set amount of time before he has to go back to work. He's responsible for keeping his employer informed as to when he will be available so that the employer's not holding a job open for somebody that's not coming back. The employer is also responsible to keep the soldier informed and there is a one-year time-frame after the soldier returns that he's expected to maintain employment.
LATHAM:
What is the Golden Rule for employers to be aware of?
DAVE CAMPBELL:
He or she should be treated as if they never left.
Just like everybody else in their peer group. If they've got raises or they got extended vacations, those same things should happen to that soldier.
LATHAM:
What are the most challenging things for employers now with these kind of deployments?
DAVE CAMPBELL:
Well, I think the most challenging thing is the not knowing when they're going to return. We've had some that have come home early and then we had others that have been extended. And that not knowing presents a problem to not only the soldier and his family, but also to the employer. They used to advertise one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer and because of the world situation that's changed dramatically. Now it's common for them to be deployed for 15 or 18 months. So it's changed quite a bit and employers, in some cases, that are informed, seem to work with it well and others that maybe aren't quite as well informed struggle with it. The smaller the operation the more difficult it is to let somebody go.
LATHAM:
Let's talk about some employers, what is their response?
DAVE CAMPBELL:
Well, it varies tremendously from municipality to municipality, from private enterprise to the government. In the state they get 30 days paid leave. In some communities they get a difference in pay. Some of our better employers pay the difference and keep the families on their company insurance. And some of the employers (have) done such things as see that the spouse's driveway was shoveled during the winter months, invited to the company Christmas party, provided a ham or turkey at the holidays. Anything that they can do to help that spouse at home feel like they're still a part of the organization is always warmly received. Those are the best-case scenarios.
LATHAM:
What kind of redress does a soldier have if they come back and maybe their job is gone, or reduced in salary or has changed in scope?
DAVE CAMPBELL:
The advice that we at ESGR give them is to ask for what they think they believe they deserve. But not to argue or put up a fight with their employer. Leave that to us ... to come to us and ask whether we think they were treated fairly. Now we're not an ultimate authority. We're more of a mediator and if it gets to where we can't resolve it in a diplomatic manner, it's returned over to the U.S. Department of Labor. And there is a Veterans Affairs individual in Iowa that does an outstanding job at that.
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