ron2
Posted : 7/27/2008 10:29:30 AM
You're walking on thin ice, all to be cautious with one person's motives, whom you find suspect.
It is against the law to fire a person for duty requirements in the service of their country. Regardless of what you suspect their motives to be. And if you cut her pay for performance related issues, you will have a tough time in court. Especially if the "performance" issues couldn't have happened because she was on base undergoing training in the defense of our country. That is, you can't say that she is a poor performer because she had to leave to complete her duty assignments. I find it just a little hard to believe that her commander would give you so much information. Much of that would be classified. Let's say she was being trained for deployment. Well, we don't need to broadcast exactly when and where her deployment would take place. She might be your employee under your thumb but Uncle Sam takes precedence, holds the ace, whathaveyou.
It's not that every military person is an angel. I dealt with a person last year who was a combat engineer in the Marines for 6 years (building Marine bases, etc.) and an expert marksman with an exemplary career with medals and pins. And he was a political lying sack of excrement. He cost me my job. But it had nothing to do with his military career. To this day, I would like to show him how ignorant he is in my business but I always respect his service to our country. In fact, I would say he better served our country as a soldier than as a civilian.
If your employee's training was not important, it would not have been approved. Case in point, a childhood friend, Robby, joined the Air Force in 1981. He started out in school for electronics in order to maintain communications equipment. So, they sent him to mechanics school to fix diesel engines. Air Force - Aim high (but accept what you get.) Army - Be all that you can be (as long as it's what we want you to be). Navy -Never Again Volunteer Yourself. Marines - We're looking for a few good men (but you'll do). That is, the military does with you what they will for their purposes, even if it crosses up with your original intentions or even your plans in civilian life.
But you go ahead and do whatever it is you think you have to do. And deal with the consequences as they come your way. I'm willing to bet that the admin and the lawyers will err on the side of caution and allow the military the necessary leeway in training. Which would still leave you open to a nasty lawsuit from the employee who can honestly claim (even if you doubt it) that she was in service to her country and yet was persecuted by you for completing that very service. And you certainly won't get any sympathy and support from military vets and their families. Did you know that it is National Guardsmen and Reserves that sometimes get deployed first? Cannon fodder is the old term, translation, first to die.