Painful Deployments - Reservist Deployments Hurt Small Businesses

[dArKeR]

Not all patriots wear fatigues. Some, it turns out, wear business suits. Take the case of Dave Dougherty, who owns a company called Data World in Bethesda, Md. One of his key employees, Jeff McIntosh, has been deployed for almost two years now. McIntosh, who does technological infrastructure for the small company, was first mobilized in November 2001. The Army reservist came back to work the following summer, but was called up again half a year later for Iraq.

MCINTOSH’S DEPLOYMENT COULDN’T have come at a worse time for Data World, which has just eight employees. McIntosh was in the middle of upgrading the computers and planning a big move. “It put everybody in a difficult position,” says Dougherty, who had to spend an extra $25,000 to get the complicated computers the company uses installed. Dougherty has hired temps here and there, but the company has had to put on hold a lot of projects. With one of his key employees gone indefinitely, Dougherty ended up having to apply for a six-figure emergency loan from the Small Business Association.

http://msnbc.com/news/993813.asp?0cl=c1

[Ilsa]

1. Maybe the SBA can give him the same deal

they gave Neil Bush. He skimmed a few hundred grand off the top of his 1M+ SBA loan in exec salary. The loan was to sink a dry hole in WY on a wildcat with bad geologicals. As far as anyone knows, the taxpayers picked up the tab because of the SBA guarantee on probably 80% (maybe 90%).

[Cha]

2. Yeah! I would love to see the day when

the government gave the average person the deal that they give the bushbrothers

[NashVegas]

3. I Think You Miss the Point

Because of USERRA laws, you've got to hold a reservist's job for their return.

We're in a similar bind at my place of work. One of our department heads is a reservist currently in Kuwait. We've got a stand in, but he's going to have to vacate when our GI Joe comes back. It's especicially going to suck because our particular Joe is, well .. incompetent, but he's such a nice guy the GM never had the brass to fire him when he should have. When he comes back, we're going to lose someone who does a superior job.

For other small businesses, where, let's say the reservist IS competent and does a great job, it's still a bind, because the replacement knows their position is only temporary, so they're going to be looking for something else at the same time.