Thinking about rejoining airforce, but into the reserves component. But if I get deployed for say a year,?

Question

does my employer still pay my regular salary? I did some research, and found out that some employers have a specified amount of time for their employees a year for military deployments. But if an employee goes over that amount, what happens? Do they still pay a differential amount from regular job salary and military pay? How do soldiers deal with this if this does happen, and how do they pay their mortages/etc in these situations? I am worrying about this, and debating if I should join Reserves, because of this reason. And I dont think I should worry because I am serving my country. Do I speak to my employer about this? And are there any other assistance other then employers concerning the pay when deployed? Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

That depends on several things.

Are you a public employee? If so, your state laws may require your employer to pay you the difference between your military and civilian pay. Ohio definitely does for state and municipal school district employees, perhaps so for public employees in other classifications too.

Are you in a union? If so, ask your union representative.

If you're not a public employee or in a union, check your employee manual. Some companies will pay the difference between your military and civilian pay. I know of two who will pay the entire civilian pay.

If there's nothing in your employee manual, you need to check with your Human Resource department. They may not have made the decision what they will do, so you just might get it.

In regards to your question about how they pay mortgages, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act will help you. This legislation replaced the old Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act. See this web site for details.

http://www.military.com/ResourcesAlmanac/ResourcesKeyIndex/0,14015,47--0,00.html

Pay special attention to the areas concerning mortgage forclosures and maximum interest rates.

Many counties will suspend property tax payments for those who are active duty.

Here is a good web site for USERRA, which protects your re-employment rights.

http://www.dol.gov/vets/usc/vpl/usc38.htm

Answer 2

no employer is required to pay you at all, all they are required to do is give you a job that is equal in pay and responsibility as the one you were in when you were deployed.

SOME will be nice and give you the difference between your military pay and your civilian salary, or will offer other perks such as keeping you on the insurance rolls or paying you vacation time, but none of that is a legal requirement.

Answer 3

Okay, most employers do not pay you when you deploy. The 1 year thing should not exist. (it is illegal) Basically you go off somewhere, 10 months later you come back, your employer has to give you your job back. It has been upheld in court that there is no time limit, so you are gone for 2yrs you still get your job back, plus whatever standard pay raises you should have gotten.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, if you deploy, you will only recieve your military pay. Your employer does not have to pay you while you fufill military obligations. They do however have to garuntee that you will have a job when you return, regardless of length of deployment.

Answer 5

DEFINETELY SPEAK TO YOUR EMPLOYER! While theres a law in place, its always good to keep your boss up to date. Keeping them in the "loop" will increase their respect (theoretically speaking, as everyones different) and will help them better understand your situation.