Posted by Charles Rehberg on Aug 21, 2017
North Notes
Spokane North Rotary Club Bulletin
August 21, 2017
Briefs:
          Social hour: The southern boundary of Spokane-North will stretch Monday, Aug. 28, for the first social meeting of the year as board director Brad Stark and family host a supper and pool party.  Club members and family are invited to Brad’s house at 6720 S. Tomaker which is on the back side of the south hill. Festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. The menu includes pulled-pork sandwiches and side items.  Members should bring their own beverages.
 
          Lost lunches: The Aug. 28 social meeting substitutes for the usual Monday luncheon, and the following Monday, Sept. 4’s Labor Day, also is a skip day.  See you Sept. 11 for the next regular luncheon.
 
Holmes school supplies moved quickly
          A small mountain of tissues, toilettes, pencils, crayons, scissors and other items was organized nearly as fast as the solar eclipse Aug. 21 as members filled supply cupboards at Holmes Elementary.
Nearly half of the Spokane-North roster came to Holmes to sort the cartons and squeeze materials into every shelf space available.  For example, cartons of boxes of facial tissues were carted from the stock room to the nurses’ room and stacked to the ceiling above lockers.
 
         The smooth, orderly supply effort was coordinated by member Sandy Fink and Holmes Principal Stephanie Lundberg. Club President Chad Haverkamp and the rest of the crew made quick work of the outing, provided to help needy students in the West Central area.
 
We somehow missed Art Rudd and Catherine Mailliard in these pictures -- SORRY!
 
 
Laws help vets save old jobs and benefits
          For most people, serving in the military doesn’t risk losing previous civilian jobs, thanks to a safety-net law called “USERRA.”
 
          Attorney Thomas Jarrard, a Gonzaga University law grad, discussed the details of the Uniformed Service Employment and Re-employment Rights Act, at the Aug. 21 luncheon.
 
          The law basically “shows how to handle employees who go to service and return,” Jarrard said.  “The purpose is to minimize disruption of their lives for prompt reinstatement,” he said, adding, “this also applies to voluntary as well as involuntary service.”
 
          The act “covers every employee, here and abroad, for private and public employers,” he said.  The law dated to World War II legislation and was revised in 1994.
 
          Jarrad said that after the service member gives notice, employers have 14 days to place the person into its position.  Seniority and pension accruals also apply to most USERRA rules, he said.
 
          Generally service members have up to a half-year to apply for their previous jobs and some “escalator principles” apply in situations “like if the person had never left.”  In some notable cases, Jarrard said, for employers like the Washington State Patrol, American Airlines and United Air Lines, the penalties over time reached millions of dollars.
 
          Various rules apply to service personnel who were disabled and need convalescence.
 
          Discrimination cases in the law “keep me in business,” Jarrard said.  
 
The bulletin producers:
          Bulletin editors: Chuck Rehberg and Sandy Fink
          Photo: Eric Johnson
          Program coordinator: Brad Stark