Archived Military leave of Absence

[LTarmy0416]

Hello,

I'm currently transitioning out of the Army and moving into the Army Reserves. Target has hired me as a ETL (possibly in Logistics), I should know more tomorrow.

My question is: Does anyone know how the Leave of Absence works for those who are in the Army Reserves/National Guard? Does anyone in the forum have experience using the Leave of Absence.

I have to commit one weekend a month and two weeks out of the year. Doing my research online, Target promotes its Military Leave of Absence, but outside of saying they have it....I can't find any information on it.

Thanks

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

You did let them know about that, when you were interviewed? It should be no problem, just remind them again.
Military Leave Team members can apply for military leave if they voluntarily enlist or are inducted into the United States Uniformed Services, Reserves or National Guard:

 

[LTarmy0416]

You did let them know about that, when you were interviewed? It should be no problem, just remind them again.
Military Leave Team members can apply for military leave if they voluntarily enlist or are inducted into the United States Uniformed Services, Reserves or National Guard:

I'll be honest, I wasn't asked, so I didn't bring it up. I interviewed early on for a investigator position in the city I live in with a state agency and during my final interview, when I was asked if i was going into the Reserves, I said yes and a week later I was told that I wasn't being considered for the position due to lack of experience....IMO, the fact that I said I was going to join the Reserves killed my chances with that position (I have over 10 years of investigator experience).

However, when I sit down with HR, I'll let them know.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Without delay. The quote was loa policy for spot.

 

[Backroom81]

Your rights under USERRA can be found here:
http://www.justice.gov/usao/nce/documents/EmploymentRights.pdf

Page 25 of the PDF has a FAQ for employers and also mentions your obligations as well. In a nutshell, as long as you provide adequate written notice of the dates of your drill weekends and AT, Target cannot deny you time off. You should not need to take an actual LOA for drills though.

 

[Backroom81]

IMO, the fact that I said I was going to join the Reserves killed my chances with that position (I have over 10 years of investigator experience).

If it did, that is illegal under USERRA.

 

[LTarmy0416]

IMO, the fact that I said I was going to join the Reserves killed my chances with that position (I have over 10 years of investigator experience).

If it did, that is illegal under USERRA.

Knowing that and proving that are two different things. However, seeing how I made it to the final interview, then was asked about me joining the Reserves and then was told a week later I lacked experienced in the field I was applying for (as I stated, I had over 10 years of experience)....I just found it fishy.

I spoke with the Transition Office at the post I'm separating from and they recommend that I hold that information (joining the Reserves) until either asked or after I was hired.

Technically, I'm not in the Reserves until May and once I get my schedule from them (as a Army Officer, I have flexibility with my reserve dates) after May, I can inform Target of the dates I need off.

 

[Retail Girl]

As an etl, you should be getting rotating weekends, so you shouldn't have a problem with those. This is especially true if you have decent coworkers who would be willing to trade with you as needed (they would at my store).

 

[LTarmy0416]

As an etl, you should be getting rotating weekends, so you shouldn't have a problem with those. This is especially true if you have decent coworkers who would be willing to trade with you as needed (they would at my store).

Thanks for the information.

 

[tgtguy]

We had a etl/log who was former Army and was in the reserves. They just made sure that the weekends he had the reserves fell on one of his weekends to be off , He also did his two weeks without any issue ( at least to my knowledge) . Spot would have to work with you or they would be in all kinds of hot water...legally and from a PR viewpoint.

 

[Mhugh220]

From experience, how they treat this is different store-to-store. There is company policy on military LOA but that doesn't mean the particular store will make it easy on you. Some stores will roll with it and you'll get the time off as needed. Others will make you have to find coverage, which you will find, but that means you'll work 12-14 days straight so you can rotate weekends with the other ETL taking your place. As an ETL-Logistics - finding coverage could be harder, especially if you go to an overnight store. Some ETLs may not be willing to change their schedules to work overnight. That means you hopefully have to have an ETL-Replenishment (which is being dissolved at certain org charts) or a Sr.TL who can cover you (which is harder because they can only work 40 hours a week). Logistics is the red-headed step child of Target: It's what makes the company function but nobody likes the team and hates how many hours they get.

Getting vacation time was hard enough for us (ETL-Log and Replen). We only got time off if we covered each other. The military LOA is a obligation which Target will comply with - again it may be easy or it may be tough. They made my one weekend a month on the weekend I had off - which sucked (3 weekends of work a month). You have to give about a month/ 2 month notice though, well we had to at our store. The ETL schedule was made a month or two in advance so the STL got irritated if sudden changes had to be made.

Good luck - read some of the topics on ETLs. There are good and bad things about being an ETL. If you're used to telling people what to do and they do it then don't expect that at Target. You can tell TMs to do stuff but don't expect it to get done as efficiently as it would if a soldier was doing it. That is the biggest frustration myself and other veterans had when transitioning from military to retail. Accountability is hard to enforce with Target's corrective action policies.

My advice as both a veteran and former ETL - keep looking for another opportunity (unless you really love spending time away from family to sell toilet paper and condoms). Transitioning was mentally tough and I picked Target because of the higher salary - but after working 60 hours a week on a regular basis and working weekends, that salary didn't hold up as well as I thought.

 

[Backroom81]

Others will make you have to find coverage, which you will find, but that means you'll work 12-14 days straight so you can rotate weekends with the other ETL taking your place. As an ETL-Logistics - finding coverage could be harder, especially if you go to an overnight store. Some ETLs may not be willing to change their schedules to work overnight. That means you hopefully have to have an ETL-Replenishment (which is being dissolved at certain org charts) or a Sr.TL who can cover you (which is harder because they can only work 40 hours a week).

Spot can't require a service member to find someone to cover their shift for drill. From the Department of Justice PDF I linked:

10. Can an employee be required to find someone to cover his or her work period when military duty interrupts the work schedule?
No. An employee is responsible for notification but not for altering the work schedule or finding a replacement.

To be fair, handling the scheduling issue yourself will keep your STL happy.

They made my one weekend a month on the weekend I had off - which sucked (3 weekends of work a month). You have to give about a month/ 2 month notice though, well we had to at our store.

Mine was the same. Drill always made for a 3rd weekend of work. The worst was the first couple of months after 9/11. My unit drilled every weekend for 6 weeks straight so my work schedule was M-F. Friday afternoons I would change clothes and head to the reserve center until Sunday night. I had it relatively light compared to some of the guys in my platoon as the center was local to me. One guy had a 8 hour trip each way.

If you're used to telling people what to do and they do it then don't expect that at Target. You can tell TMs to do stuff but don't expect it to get done as efficiently as it would if a soldier was doing it. That is the biggest frustration myself and other veterans had when transitioning from military to retail. Accountability is hard to enforce with Target's corrective action policies.

On the plus side, you don't have to give a crap about what your team does on their off time. You won't be standing in the STLs office being bitched at because one of your TMs is in the drunk tank. Or punched a hooker. Or started a gang bang on the pizza delivery girl. Or picked a fight with rival service branch members. Or when 2 rival grunt companies decide to duke it out. Or duct tape boots between 2 mattresses and threw them off the third floor of the barracks. Or random Lcpl married a stripper so he can get that sweet BAH. Or the dumb boot bought a brand new V6 Mustang with 25% interest from that dealership right off base.

#BarracksLife

My advice as both a veteran and former ETL - keep looking for another opportunity (unless you really love spending time away from family to sell toilet paper and condoms). Transitioning was mentally tough and I picked Target because of the higher salary - but after working 60 hours a week on a regular basis and working weekends, that salary didn't hold up as well as I thought.

Echoing this. You're already a step up by having a degree and experience as a zero. Don't waste by hanging around Target longer than you have to.

 

[LTarmy0416]

I appreciate everyone's honesty and background information in regards to the ETL position. HR did provide me the formal offer today and I'm actually pretty happy with it. Sometime today or tomorrow I'll actually receive the details of the offer via email and be contacted in regards to which store I'll be working at.

I'm actually still waiting on a few other offers, but I'm going to take this position, with the understanding between my wife and family, that I'll likely move on to pursue other opportunities at a later time. I'm use to long hours and being away from my family, however, with this position, I'm sure to be sleeping on my own bed at the end of my shift.

I know the transition is going to be difficult, this is why I signed up on this site to learn as much as I can (the good and bad) and hopefully apply what I have learned in my career and be successful at Target.

I'm still waiting to see what ETL role I'll land, everything I been asked and talked to about during my interviews leaves me to think I'll be logistics.

 

[Mhugh220]

Hopefully the offer was $80k or higher. Anything less for ETL Log with military background is below average.

Most likely you won't know your home store until after Business college ( 6 weeks). You'll train elsewhere for that period. They may tell you if you are filling a vacancy, if not, they have to wait until they term the other person.

Take everything you've learned and throw it out. Target wants you to do it their way and follow their best practices. Regardless of common sense - God himself wrote Target Best Practices

 

[Backroom81]

Target wants you to do it their way and follow their best practices. Regardless of common sense - God himself wrote Target Best Practices

Just like in the mili...

That's just too easy.

 

[Mhugh220]

Target wants you to do it their way and follow their best practices. Regardless of common sense - God himself wrote Target Best Practices

Just like in the mili...

That's just too easy.

That's correct

 

[Backroom81]

That's correct

Which was, by far, my biggest decision to not reenlist. There was a $40k reenlistment bonus for NCOs in my MOS when I got out (Iraq was still in full swing) and I still don't regret walking away.

 

[BigEyedPhish]

Hopefully the offer was $80k or higher. Anything less for ETL Log with military background is below average.

Most likely you won't know your home store until after Business college ( 6 weeks). You'll train elsewhere for that period. They may tell you if you are filling a vacancy, if not, they have to wait until they term the other person.

Take everything you've learned and throw it out. Target wants you to do it their way and follow their best practices. Regardless of common sense - God himself wrote Target Best Practices

And how many people does it take to run a successful PFresh store according to best practice?

I thought I remember reading it was around 10
LOL.

 

[Mhugh220]

That's correct

Which was, by far, my biggest decision to not reenlist. There was a $40k reenlistment bonus for NCOs in my MOS when I got out (Iraq was still in full swing) and I still don't regret walking away.

I didn't mind that aspect. My wife didnt like how often I deployed however she preferred a deployment over Target. Apparently sleeping during the day, working weekends, 60+ hours, and me tired all the time was too much for her. But we also wanted more kids and Targets benefits sucked (compared to Tricare and my current plan)

 

[Mhugh220]

And how many people does it take to run a successful PFresh store according to best practice?

I thought I remember reading it was around 10
LOL.

Our store was a pilot for PFresh - 10 to 12 TMs is average for unload process. What they actually give hours for, maybe 2 PA. My Pfresh team consisted of 8 TMs but I had to pull all hours from GM process.

Target doesn't compensate the time it takes to do Pfresh correctly. A lot of food got wasted from not FIFOing, ordering too much, or not having the TMs to push a Food truck.

I don't miss the days of 18 food pallets with 12 flow TMs and a 2400 piece GM truck.