Help Wanted: National Guardsman can't be fired from job for weekend military service

DEAR CARRIE: My son is in the Army National Guard and must serve one three-day weekend a month -- Friday through Sunday. Meanwhile, he works six days a week as a union carpenter apprentice. His employer has warned him that if he loses time on the job because of Army commitments, he will be fired. Is this legal?

-- Soldier's Mom

DEAR SOLDIER'S MOM: It sounds illegal -- and shameful. Federal laws provide protections against this very thing. The Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act of 1994, also known as USERRA, prohibits employment discrimination against people serving in the military, including the National Guard, and the law also protects them against reprisals.

"In that regard, an employer would be prohibited from taking any adverse action against an employee for performing military service -- including service in the Army National Guard," said a spokesman for the U.S. Labor Department. USERRA is enforced by a division of the Labor Department.

The spokesman suggested that your son contact the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve at the Department of Defense to learn more about his rights. He can also contact the ombudsman there for help with his problem. Another option is to file a complaint with the Labor Department's Veterans' Employment and Training Service, or VETS, the division that enforces USERRA.

It's worth mentioning that USERRA protections also extend to individuals who want to return to their civilian jobs after periods of military service. If they meet certain eligibility requirements, they have to be reinstated to the same position, same seniority and same rate of pay they would have reached had they not left for military service. To qualify for job reinstatement, service personnel must notify an employer of upcoming service; cannot have a dishonorable discharge and must submit a timely application for reinstatement, among other requirements.

Thank goodness members of the military have some job protections. After serving their country, they should be able to resume their employment when they return.

DEAR CARRIE: I work in the private sector and have not had a raise in more than 15 years. Could I fight for a cost-of-living raise? I make just $15 an hour, but my boss says I am at the peak of pay for my job.

-- Stagnant Wages

DEAR STAGNANT: As you know firsthand, the news on wages hasn't been good in Long Island's private sector for a while. In fact, wages at LI companies have fallen steadily in 2014. In October, for example, the average hourly wage fell to $25.42 an hour from $26.05 a year earlier, the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show.

So you're not alone in dealing with stagnant wages. What can you do? Not much, if you're not covered by a union contract or other employment agreement. Short of those, your employer can decide what to pay you as long as it's at least $8 an hour, the state minimum wage, or as long as you earn the wage the company agreed to pay you. Your employer could even cut your wages as long as the company doesn't try to make the cut retroactive to hours you worked at your old wage. And the company would have to notify you of the wage change ahead of time. So the moral of the story is that while it's bad out there, it could be worse.

Go to esgr.mil for more information on the employment rights of military personnel. Go to 1.usa.gov/1zWbKE9 to file a complaint about employment discrimination.