Jobs guaranteed for reservists upon return

Army reservists who left for their annual training and possible deployment in the Middle East and Afghanistan will have their jobs waiting for them when they return, while those who will be hired to fill in the vacant slots would still remain with the department even when these reservists return.

In an interview, Office of Personnel Management director Juan I. Tenorio stressed that federal law requires employers to preserve the jobs of uniformed personnel regardless of how long they serve in the military.

Under CNMI law, Army reservists called to active duty may avail of paid military leave for up to 90 days, Tenorio added. Military service made beyond 90 days can be approved as leave of absence without pay.

“This law seems applicable to the current situation,” he said.

The same view was echoed by DPS commissioner Edward C. Camacho, who said the hiring of new employees will not affect the status of the 30 Army Reservists within the department who are currently on training in Hawaii.

“They will have their jobs when they return,” he said.

Camacho said the status of the newly hired personnel would also not be affected upon the return of the reservists due to the anticipated high demand for public safety.

“They are not under contract, so they too will still have their jobs,” he said. “We are anticipating more demand for public safety in the CNMI, and they are going to be utilized to promote security services throughout the island.”

OPM Tenorio refused to elaborate on the reservists’ employment status. He said he will find out the legal details regarding the issue when different agencies affected by the departure of the reservists meet tomorrow.

“Maybe I can explain things with authority after the meeting,” he said.

Besides the OPM, other agencies expected to attend the meeting are the Attorney General’s Office, Department of Finance, Office of Management and Budget, and the Department of Public Safety.

Press secretary Peter Callaghan, a former ranking military officer, echoed Tenorio’s statement on the reservists’ right to reemployment.

“Their jobs are automatically guaranteed when they come back,” Callaghan stressed, noting that the law covers reservists who work not only in government, but also in the private sector.

He also expressed doubt that those who will be accepted under the planned emergency hiring at DPS would have to vacate their posts when the reservists return.

“I don’t foresee a mass firing if we do emergency hiring. There are existing vacancies at DPS and the new employees will probably just take up those full-time employees’ slots,” Callaghan said.

Commissioner Camacho also pointed out that the department was already facing a shortage of personnel even before the reservists were called for training. He said the emergency hiring of personnel will fill additional FTE positions on top of the already existing vacancies.

“We would like to augment and put more emphasis on water safety, especially when the surf’s up; however, we just do not have enough

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to do that,” he said. “That also includes monitoring of tour sites, dive rescue, and patrol.”

Altogether, Camacho said the DPS needs a workforce of about 477 personnel on Saipan. The island’s department currently operates with 377 personnel, while Tinian and Rota have 56 and 59, respectively.

Camacho said the emergency hiring would present Rota and Tinian with 20 added positions apiece, while Saipan will have an additional 60 employees to its workforce.

The department chief, however, stressed the need for funds to accompany the hiring of the additional personnel.

“It is already hard to compensate the 371 due to austerity measures, so I hope the money comes along with the additional positions,” he said.

Camacho also disclosed that 10 inactive reservists within the department may be called for training soon, which would further lessen that number of police officers and firefighters in the department. Currently, the department operates with just 115 policemen and 71 firefighters on Saipan.

In a separate interview, acting Commonwealth Ports Authority executive director Regino Celis said CPA has no plans to hire additional employees, despite the manpower shortage left by its reservist personnel.

“We will stick with what we have. We’ll probably just change our scheduling system so we can continue with our operations,” Celis said.

Enacted in 1994, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act requires employers to promptly reemploy persons returning from military service, and sets standards for benefits that should be made available for them.

At least 83 CNMI reservists headed to Hawaii last week to undergo the U.S. Army Reserve’s annual training, which lasts three weeks. But the duration of the deployment is likely to be extended amid calls by the Pentagon for inactive personnel to reinforce depleted missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Reservists from Saipan, Guam and American Samoa form part of the Army Reserve’s 500-strong 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry. (Agnes Donato and Shan Seman)