When Ohio National Guard Sgt. Rebecca McCloy mobilized in 2021 with her unit to assist with pandemic-related missions in Columbus, she realized she’d have to put her civilian job as a line lead for a manufacturing company on hold.
“I told my supervisor it was coming up,” McCloy told Reserve + National Guard Magazine. “I said I’d follow up with specifics.”
She submitted the memorandum requesting a leave of absence for training, signed by her training noncommissioned officer. The date was later extended, and McCloy again shared the notice with her supervisor.
“When they hired me, they knew I was in the military, they knew I was in the National Guard,” McCloy said. “None of it was a surprise.”
Six months into the mission, her employer sent a letter to her home address informing her that they had terminated her employment.
Under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), a Guard or reserve member who leaves to perform military service is entitled to be promptly reemployed in the position they would have attained had they never left, a Department of War (DOW) official told RNG Magazine.
To uphold that act, the DOW established the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a free, neutral resource dedicated to informing and educating service members and civilian employers on their rights and responsibilities under USERRA.
ESGR has seen a steady increase in engagement over the last few years, the official said. In FY 2025, they assisted with approximately 15,400 inquiries and 1,660 mediation cases, which is about 800 more inquiries than in FY24 and 2,200 more than in FY23.
“This upward trend in informal inquiries reflects a growing awareness of USERRA rights,” the official said.
In 2024, they assisted with approximately 1,700 mediation cases and 1,500 cases in 2023.
In cases such as McCloy’s, the DOW official said service members should only escalate the situation if resolution cannot be reached at the lowest level and that ESGR is available to assist throughout the process.
1. Service members are advised to speak directly with their supervisor or with Human Resources.
“Often, violations are simply administrative mistakes,” the DOW official said. “Pointing out the issue and discussing company policy resolves many issues at this level.”
2. The next level for resolution is for the service member to inform their military chain of command, who helps verify that the military orders are correct and that proper, timely notice was indeed provided to the employer.
3. If the prior steps are unsuccessful, the service member may then contact ESGR via phone (1-800-336-4590, Option 1), online form or email (osd.userra@mail.mil) and an ESGR representative will assess their situation, answer questions, and, in some cases, assign a neutral, volunteer Ombudsman.
“The Ombudsman acts as an educator and mediator, not an advocate or lawyer,” the official said. “They explain USERRA guidelines to both parties in order to find a mutually acceptable resolution.”
4. Finally, if it is necessary, the service member can file a formal complaint with the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service to initiate a formal federal investigation.
“I was pretty pissed about the whole situation because I shouldn’t have had to go through that,” McCloy said.
The DOW official said that the two most common concerns ESGR handles are Military Obligation Discrimination and Reinstatement Issues.
- Discrimination — when an employer actively penalizes a service member because of their service, such as denying a promotion, refusing to hire, or withholding assignments due to drill or deployment schedules.
- Reinstatement — when an employer fails to restore a returning service member to their correct pay, benefits and seniority under USERRA’s “escalator principle,” which requires placing them in the career position they would have naturally achieved had they never left for military service.
After contacting ESGR, McCloy said the company reinstated her about a month later. She even received backpay for the time between her return from military duty and the company reinstating her employment.
“I needed money,” she said. “I had [my dog] Remy and two cats and lived on my own and needed the income.”
For information on the USERRA, visit the website or contact the ESGR.
