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In Michigan, the Ripoff That Wasn't
March 8, 2004

By Ed Offley

I have great news to report: Barry Bernhardt did not get ripped off.

The story appeared on the AP wire the other day, got picked up by the Drudge Report, and was the buzz of military and veterans' communities all across the nation: A public school teacher called up for active-duty training with the Navy had been forced by his employer to pay out of his own pocket for a substitute teacher to replace him while he was serving overseas.

The gist of the coverage was this Michigan public school administration telling Bernhardt, "Going off to defend the country? Here's the bill - pay up."

When I read the AP article I could feel my blood pressure spike. I'm sure every veteran, reservist, Guardsman and active-duty military person who saw the story had the same response: Who are those idiots in that @#$#% school district and what do they think they are doing?"

Deep breath: Here's what really happened.

Bernhardt is a middle school teacher in the Kenowa Hills School District near Grand Rapids, Mich. He is also a member of the Navy Reserve, and like other part-time military people, must juggle his civilian and family responsibilities with the demands of the service.

So when Bernhardt recently prepared to travel to Italy for 15 days of annual training (which would force him to miss two full weeks of school), he contacted his employer to arrange for a substitute teacher for two weeks and to ensure that the paperwork was in order for his leave from work.

Under the 1994 "Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act" (USERRA), Bernhardt's employer must save his job position for him upon completion of his military duty. The law focuses on re-employment rights of Guardsmen and reservists summoned to active duty. But the law, experts say, does not require a civilian employer to pay the employee a nickel of his or her civilian salary while away on active service.

Here's what Kenowa Hills School Superintendent Jim Gillette and his staff actually did: They approved for Bernhardt to use up two days of leave and two comp days during his absence (which means he gets paid his normal salary of $342 per day for those four days away). For the other six days of work, instead of receiving nothing from the school district, he will receive his regular pay ($342) less the cost of the substitute teacher ($75) and his Navy pay ($100), for a net increase of $167 per day. Of course, he continues to receive all other benefits from his civilian employer under USERRA provisions.

"Legally they don't have to do that," says Gary Aten, a retired National Guard lieutenant colonel who serves as Michigan's executive director of the organization, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. "Legally it would be an unpaid leave of absence."

Aten added, "This is commendable for them to do that."

What happened to create this overnight internet feeding frenzy was a combination of public misunderstanding and a local news reporter's inadvertent dousing of the fire with gasoline.

When the Kenowa Hills School District held its regular meeting on Monday, a handful of local teachers and residents - misinformed over the nature of the agreement Bernhardt and the district had reached - accused Gillette and his staff of ripping off a patriotic and dedicated teacher.

Then the local reporter made a bad situation appear worse when she erroneously wrote that the district was actually taking money from Bernhardt's military pay as well.

Faced with an escalating uproar, Superintendent Gillette posted a lengthy statement on the district's website regarding the teacher, which said in part:

"The salary and benefit arrangement worked out by Kenowa Hills goes above and beyond what the [USERRA] law requires and what other area school districts and private employers are doing. The law only requires employers to provide unpaid military leave. Since salaries in the public schools usually exceed military stipends, military personnel called to duty often lose funds as a result of their service. Other area schools either place personnel on unpaid military leave or make up the difference between their military pay and their school salary."

"We did this," Gillette explained, "because we wanted to support those serving our country through providing both a flexible and positive option."

I have a confession: Like every other journalist, I love a good train wreck. I also take a secret pleasure when someone in an office of serious responsibility steps on a rake and meets the handle on his forehead with a loud klong.

In the case of Kenowa Hills School District and Barry Bernhardt, we got neither. Instead, we have a supportive and enlightened employer going above and beyond the requirements of the law to help a teacher and part-time trooper who himself is serving us all.

That's not as much fun as a 10-car derailment. It is a much better story.

Ed Offley is Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at dweditor@yahoo.com. ?2004 DefenseWatch. All opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of Military.com.
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