RC Re-employment System Declared Clunky

A Government Accountability Office report affirms what many National Guard and Reserve members already know about re-employment difficulties when returning from active duty. Because the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 doesn’t designate a lead agency, a Reserve Component member with re-employment problems could be bounced through three departments — Defense, Justice and Labor – and the Office of Special Counsel. Furthermore, the agencies cannot share electronic files, often requiring a receiving agency to compile a new record. In addition, each agency has its own bureaucratic investigative methods. Consequently, the average processing time is 619 days, according to the GAO. The report recommends that — along with other suggestions for streamlining the system — Congress appoint a lead agency.