Job loss is unfair, Guard member claims
His employer denies the Iowa man was wrongly laid off, blaming the decision on budget problems.
By WILLIAM RYBERG
Register Business Writer
01/06/2004
A sergeant in the Iowa National Guard says he has been wrongfully dismissed from his job as a deputy sheriff in Pocahontas County only a few months after he returned from a year's active duty with his unit.
"It just upsets me because I really love my job, and they took that away from me," said Brian Runneberg, 34, of Laurens.
He was told he was losing the job two days before Christmas.
Pocahontas County Sheriff Bob Lampe denied Monday that Runneberg was treated unfairly. Lampe said Runneberg lost the job because a deputy's position had to be eliminated due to budget constraints.
"It's happening clear across the state," said Lampe. "We're in budgetary problems. I don't know when things are going to get better."
Runneberg has filed a complaint with the Office of the Veterans' Employment and Training Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor.
Tony Smithhart, the director of the agency's Des Moines office, is investigating the complaint and plans to talk with members of the Pocahontas County Board of Supervisors at a board meeting today in Pocahontas.
Also expected to attend the meeting today is Ken Rains, a representative of the Communications Workers of America, the union that represents sheriff's deputies and dispatchers in Pocahontas County.
Runneberg was treated unfairly after serving his country, Rains said. "As a taxpayer, I think it's rather deplorable," he said.
Rains expects to file a union grievance with the sheriff's department.
Smithhart, the federal labor official, said a federal law prohibits employers from discriminating against members of the National Guard and Reserve in initial employment, in re-employment or retention in their jobs, or in the benefits they receive because of their military service.
Smithhart's office handled about 35 complaints in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. Most were resolved through discussions that informed the employer or the National Guard or Reserve member about provisions of the law, Smithhart said.
Most Iowa employers comply with the rule, Smithhart said. "By and large, employers in Iowa really do a good job," he said. "We've got employers going above and beyond in this state."
When the office finds a violation, an employer can be directed to rehire the guard member or Reservist and pay back wages and benefits. If the employer refuses, the case can either be referred to the U.S. attorney's office, or the military member can hire a private lawyer, Smithhart said.
Runneberg was among about 350 members of the 1st Battalion of the 194th Field Artillery in northwest Iowa who were activated in August 2002 to guard security-sensitive sites in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Runneberg, a combat veteran of the 1991 Gulf War, was among the soldiers assigned to guard an Army site in Indiana.
The activation took a toll on Runneberg's personal life, too. He and his wife divorced. They have two children, ages 7 and 9.
Runneberg had been been employed by the sheriff's department since January 2002. He previously had worked for two years as a police officer in Laurens.
His deputy salary was about $32,000 a year.
While Runneberg was on active duty, Sheriff Lampe hired another man to fill the deputy position, Runneberg said. Runneberg returned to work in August, but the new employee kept a newer model squad car and patrol equipment that Runneberg had used before going on active military duty, he said.
In the budget cutbacks announced at Christmas, the newer employee kept his job, even though Runneberg was laid off.
Runneberg thinks that happened because the employee and the sheriff are friends and because Runneberg complained recently to Smithhart's office about having to drive an older squad car that lacked necessary equipment for patrol duty and investigations.
Runneberg regained use of the well-equipped squad car after Smithhart's office contacted the sheriff's department, Runneberg said. A week later, however, Runneberg was dismissed.
Lampe denied Monday that he and the new employee are close friends. Lampe said the new employee was hired as a reserve deputy, first to fill Runneberg's position and later to provide patrols in the city of Pocahontas under a relatively new contract between the city and the sheriff's department.
Budget constraints, meanwhile, prompted Lampe to decide to reduce the number of regular deputies from five to four, Lampe said. The reduction was approved by the Board of Supervisors.
Runneberg was laid off because he had the least seniority among the five regular deputies, Lampe said.
The new employee was kept on as a reserve deputy to fulfill the Pocahontas contract, but that employee will lose his job July 1 when the contract ends, Lampe said.
