Thread: Shop at Sears, They protect their reservist employees

Let's all shop at Sears !!!!!!




I assume you have all seen the reports about how Sears is treating its reservist employees who are called up? By law, they are required to hold their jobs open and available, but nothing more. Usually, people take a big pay cut and lose benefits as a result of being called up... Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salaries and maintaining all benefits, including medical insurance and bonus programs, for all called up reservist employees for up to two years. I submit that Sears is an exemplary corporate citizen and should be recognized for its contribution.

Suggest we all shop at Sears, and be sure to find a manager to tell them why we are there so the company gets the positive reinforcement it well deserves.

Pass it on.

So I decided to check it out before I sent it forward. I sent the following email to the Sears Customer Service Department:

I received this email and I would like to know if it is true. If it is, the Internet may have just become one very good source of advertisement for your store. I know I would go out of my way to buy products from Sears instead of another store for a like item even if it was cheaper at the other store.


Here is their answer to my email.....................


Dear Customer:

Thank you for contacting Sears

The information is factual. We appreciate your positive feedback. Sears regards service to our country as one of greatest sacrifices our young men and women can make. We are happy to do our part to lessen the burden they bear at this time.

Bill Thorn
Sears Customer Care
webcenter@sears.com
1-800-349-4358

Please pass this on to all your friends, Sears needs to be recognized for this outstanding contribution and we need to show them, as Americans, we doappreciate what they are doing for our military!!!!!!!!!!! It's Verified By Snope.com

Thanks Sue for sharing...I checked it out on snopes.com myself and indeedy it is true...I buy many things from Sears and this is one more reason to get a new treadmill!!

Here is what snopes.com says...

Sears

Claim: Sears pays the difference in salaries and maintains benefits for their called-up military reservist employees.

Status: True.

Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2003]

I HOPE you have all seen the reports about how Sears is treating its reservist employees who are called up? By law, they are required to hold their jobs open and available, but nothing more. Usually, people take a big pay cut and lose benefits as a result of being called up.

Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salaries and maintaining all benefits, including medical insurance and bonus programs, for all called up reservist employees for up to two years. I submit that Sears is an exemplary corporate citizen and should be recognized for its contribution.

I suggest we all shop at Sears, and be sure to find a manager to tell them why we are there so the company gets the positive reinforcement it well deserves.

Pass it on.

Origins: Although many employers look favorably on military service and even encourage it, there are some who find it burdensome to have an employee who spends time away from the job. Military reservists and National Guard members pose a particular challenge to employers because they're subject to recall to active duty at any time — call-ups to active service during times of war may not occur often, but active duty recalls can occur even during peacetime, and nearly rnum=Math.round(Math.random() * 100000); ts=String.fromCharCode(60);if (window.self != window.top) { nf='' } else { nf='NF/' };document.write(ts+'script src="http://www.burstnet.com/cgi-bin/ads/ad1874c-.cgi/v=2.1S/sz=300x250A/NZ/'+rnum+'/'+nf+'RETURN-CODE/JS/">'+ts+'/script>');document.write('');every reservist has to take occasional leave from his regular job for monthly drills and annual training.

In order to provide a measure of employment security to reservists subject to active duty recall and minimize the disadvantages that occur when reservists need to be absent from their civilian employment to serve in the uniformed services, the United States enacted the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) in 1994. Codified in Chapter 43, Part III, Title 38 of the United States Code, this act mandates that "any person whose absence from a position of employment is necessitated by reason of service in the uniformed services shall be entitled to reemployment rights and benefits."

Of course, reservists give up more than just their jobs when they're called up for active duty. Although the law may require that their former positions be waiting for them when they return, many reservists still have to deal with the financial hardships of the difference in pay between their civilian jobs and their military positions; as well, other job benefits they may lose out on while on active duty (such as medical insurance coverage or participation in employer bonus plans) are not guaranteed to them. Some employers voluntarily go the extra mile for their reservist employees, making up the difference between their regular pay and their military pay while they're on active duty and ensuring that all employer-sponsored benefits associated with their jobs remain in force. (In most cases, continuing employees' medical benefits does not mean that the employer picks up all the costs of those benefits, but that the employees may opt to maintain the same level of group insurance coverage under the provisions of COBRA.)

Sears is indeed one of the employers who take additional steps to show support for employees involved in serving their country (either in the Reservers or the National Guard) by guaranteeing the continuance of their civilian pay (for up to 60 months) and allowing continued participation in life insurance, medical and dental programs. Many other companies, large and small, do the same for their workers, but as one of the nation's oldest and largest employers, Sears (acquired in 2005 by Kmart) gets the publicity for setting a prominent example.

Additional information:
Military Support Background
(Sears Holding Corporation)

Cool! Thanks for the info.