About ESGR

What is Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve?

Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is a Department of Defense organization. It is a staff group within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (OASD/RA), which is in itself a part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

The nation's Reserve components (referring to the total of all National Guard members and Reserve forces from all branches of the military) comprise approximately 46 percent of our total available military manpower. The current National Defense Strategy indicates that the National Guard and Reserve will be full partners in the fully integrated Total Force. Our Reserve forces will spend more time away from the workplace defending the nation, supporting a demanding operations tempo and training to maintain their mission readiness.

In this environment, civilian employers play a critical role in the defense of the nation by complying with existing employment laws protecting the rights of workers who serve in the Reserve component.

ESGR was established in 1972 to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve component members and their civilian employers and to assist in the resolution of conflicts arising from an employee's military commitment. It is the lead DoD organization for this mission under DoD Directive 1250.1.

Today, ESGR operates through a network of hundreds of volunteers throughout the nation and Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Europe.

ESGR Mission

Gain and maintain active support from all public and private employers for the men and women of the National Guard and Reserve.

Customers

• Employers
• National Guard and Reserve members

Stakeholders

• Office of the Secretary of Defense
• Uniformed Services
• Volunteers

Strategic Goals

1. Gain support from all identified Reserve component employers
2. Advocate for Reserve component employers within DoD
3. Ensure viability of All-volunteer force
4. Educate customers and stakeholders
5. Transform ESGR organizational structure to be relevant and effective

Programs and Activities

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve has a national and local organizational structure to support the following functions:

• Operate a proactive program directed at U.S. employers, employees, and communities that ensures understanding and appreciation of the role of the National Guard and Reserve in the context of the DoD Total Force Policy.
• Encourage and assist employee participation in National Guard and Reserve training programs and on military duty without civilian job impediments of any kind, to include encouraging voluntary compliance with federal and state statutes governing employment and reemployment rights of Reserve component members.
• Encourage interaction between National Guard and Reserve units and their communities to promote public understanding of the National Guard and Reserve and encourage partnerships between civilian organizations and military units in the community.
• Assist in preventing, resolving, or reducing employer and/or employee problems and misunderstandings that result from National Guard or Reserve membership, training, or duty requirements through information services and informal mediation.
• Assist in educating National Guard and Reserve members regarding their obligations and responsibilities to employers.
• Use the military chain of command to promote better understanding of the importance of maintaining positive working relations between employers and their Reserve component employees, in order to sustain National Guard and Reserve participation.
• Solicit the assistance of military agencies, military training schools, and military and civilian associations in educating the Reserve forces about their rights and responsibilities regarding terms and conditions of civilian employment, as stipulated in the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
• Recruit and develop volunteer leaders at the national and local levels to promote the development of employer personnel policies and practices that accommodate and facilitate employee participation in National Guard and Reserve activities.

ESGR conducts both proactive and reactive services in support of the organization’s strategic goals.

The primary emphasis for a comprehensive employer outreach program is directed towards known employers of the Guard and Reserve, as identified by the Civilian Employment Information (CEI) initiative through the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness. To that end, ESGR conducts the “5-Star Employer Program.”

Five-Star employers are those who have completed the following steps:

1. Sign Statement of Support – demonstrable compliance with the law
2. Review HR policy
3. Train supervisors and managers on USERRA
4. Provide “Above and Beyond” HR policy
5. Advocate for Guard/Reserve

The primary means of assistance in preventing, resolving, or reducing employer and/or employee problems and misunderstandings that result from National Guard or Reserve membership is done through a nationwide Ombudsman Program.

ESGR has a national network of over 900 volunteer ombudsmen who help resolve issues between employers and their employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve. These volunteers, each of whom receives extensive training on USERRA and dispute resolution techniques, serve as informal mediators between the employer and employee and inform and educate the employer and employee on what the law requires and assist in finding a mutually agreeable solution. ESGR Ombudsmen have successfully mediated over 95 percent of cases in the past year.

ESGR Ombudsmen are a resource for employers and members of the National Guard and Reserve, and can be reached via e-mail at ESGRMailbox@navy.mil or by phone at (800) 336-4590.

ESGR Organization

When the end of the draft was initially anticipated in the early 1970’s, defense planners foresaw a potential problem with the nation's Reserve servicemembers and their civilian employers. Long accustomed to National Guard and Reserve membership as an alternative to compulsory Active duty service, it was believed that employers might question the necessity of service in a purely voluntary military system. The planners concluded that some employers might not be supportive of their workers serving voluntarily in uniform.

The Department of Defense chartered the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) over 28 years ago to:

• Inform employers of the ever-increasing importance of the National Guard and Reserve.
• Explain the necessity for and role of these forces in national defense.

Originally consisting of a small, select, volunteer panel of distinguished Americans representing business, government, labor, and military, they directed most of their efforts at their peers. It soon became apparent that this purely top-level effort was insufficient.

Throughout the years, studies showed that nearly a third of the men and women surveyed about why they were leaving the National Guard and Reserve still indicated "employment conflict" as the source of their problems.

Identifying the need to expand its outreach, the national ESGR leadership established a nationwide network of local employer support volunteers, organized in ESGR Committees within each state, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. In this way, ESGR could bring the message to all employers, large and small, in cities, towns, and rural areas.

Today, nearly 2,500 volunteer executives, senior government representatives, educators, and military personnel serve on local Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Committees. With help and resources from the National ESGR Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, the 56 ESGR Committees conduct employer support programs, including Ombudsmen Services, and recognition of employers whose policies support or encourage participation in the National Guard and Reserve. By explaining the missions of the National Guard and Reserve and by increasing public awareness of the role of the employer, they develop a dialogue among employers, the ESGR Committees, and local National Guard and Reserve unit commanders and members. ESGR Committee members also provide information to the National Chair on specific problems. This information helps point out regional or national trends that affect recruiting, retention and training of the National Guard and Reserve.