You hired a great employee. Then you found out he is also a Sergeant in the Army Reserve. He drills one weekend a month. He has two weeks of training each summer. Every so often, he gets activated for longer.

Most employers handle this fine. But some have questions. What do I owe him? Who do I call when scheduling gets hard? Is there any help out there for me?

There is. It is called ESGR, and it is free. ESGR stands for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. It is a Department of Defense program built for one job: helping employers like you support the Guard and Reserve members on your payroll.

This guide is about ESGR the organization. What it is, what it gives you, and how to use it day to day. We will not rehash the full text of the reemployment law here. For that, read our breakdown of USERRA employer obligations for Guard and Reserve staff. This piece stays on ESGR and the support side.

What Is ESGR and Who Runs It?

ESGR is a Department of Defense program. It started back in 1972. Its mission has stayed the same since: build and keep employer support for the National Guard and Reserve.

Here is the part most employers miss. ESGR runs on volunteers. Nearly 2,300 of them serve on State Committees across the country. There are 54 of these committees, one for every state and territory. So when you reach out, you are usually talking to a local person near you, not a call center three time zones away.

These volunteers do three main things. They give briefings to educate employers and service members. They mediate disputes between the two sides. And they recognize employers who go out of their way to support their military staff. You can read more about ESGR on its official site at esgr.mil.

Why should a midsize company care? Because you probably do not have an in-house expert on military leave. ESGR is that expert, and it costs you nothing. Larger firms often build their own programs. Smaller ones lean on ESGR. That is exactly what it is there for.

What Free Resources Does ESGR Offer Employers?

ESGR gives employers real, usable help. Not pamphlets that sit in a drawer. Here are the main resources you can tap.

Briefings and education

ESGR volunteers come to your workplace and explain the rules in plain language. They cover the basics of military leave, what you owe a returning employee, and how to plan around training schedules. This is the fastest way to get your managers up to speed. Most disputes start because a frontline manager did not know the rules. A briefing fixes that before it becomes a problem.

The Customer Service Center

ESGR runs a Customer Service Center you can call with questions. Not sure what counts as protected leave? Confused about a return-to-work timeline? Ask before you act. A quick call can save you a complaint, a lawyer, or a lost employee.

Mediation through trained Ombudsmen

This is the big one, and it gets its own section below. ESGR Ombudsmen are trained volunteers who mediate disputes between you and your Guard or Reserve employee. It is neutral, free, and it keeps most problems out of court.

How Does ESGR Mediation Work When There Is a Dispute?

Most issues with a Guard or Reserve employee are small. A scheduling mix-up. A misread leave rule. A new manager who did not know the law. But left alone, small issues grow into formal complaints. That is where ESGR Ombudsmen come in.

An Ombudsman is a trained volunteer. They are spread across the United States and its territories. Their job is neutral mediation. They do not work for you, and they do not work for the employee. They help both sides find a fix.

Here is how it usually goes. A service member or an employer contacts the ESGR Customer Service Center. The Center refers the case to a local Ombudsman. The Ombudsman talks to both sides, explains the rules, and works toward a resolution. The vast majority of cases get settled this way, informally, without lawyers.

Why does this matter to you? Because the alternative is worse. A formal complaint goes to the Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service. You can read about that path on the DOL VETS USERRA page. From there it can escalate to litigation. Mediation is the cheap, fast off-ramp. Use it early.

What Is the Statement of Support Program?

The Statement of Support is the cornerstone of ESGR's whole effort. It is a simple public pledge. You sign a document that says your company supports its Guard and Reserve employees and follows the law.

It sounds small. It is not. Signing it does a few things at once. It tells your military staff that leadership has their back. It puts your support in writing, which sets the tone for managers. And it is the entry point for everything else ESGR offers, including the awards below.

Any employer can sign one. Big or small. Public or private. You can do it through your state committee or the Statement of Support page on esgr.mil. For a midsize firm trying to recruit reliable people, this is a low-effort, high-trust signal. Veterans and reservists notice which employers signed.

It also pairs well with the rest of your hiring motion. If you are building a reputation as a military-friendly employer, the Statement of Support is a clean first step. So is a solid 90-day onboarding plan for veteran employees. Employers who hire Guard and Reserve staff often recruit them through programs like the Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship, which places transitioning service members directly with host companies.

What Are the ESGR Employer Awards?

ESGR recognizes employers who support their Guard and Reserve staff. The awards are a ladder. Each one builds on the last. They are real Department of Defense recognition, and they make great proof for your careers page.

Here is the ladder, from entry to top.

Two more sit alongside the ladder. The Seven Seals Award recognizes a person or group for a notable contribution to the ESGR mission. The Extraordinary Employer Support Award goes to past Freedom Award or Pro Patria winners who keep up that support for years after.

The Freedom Award sits at the top of the ESGR awards program. You do not nominate yourself for it. Your employees do. That is the point. When your military staff feel supported enough to put your name forward, you have built something real.

What Is a Bosslift and Should You Go?

A Bosslift is one of the better things ESGR does, and few employers know about it. It is an event where employers get to observe military operations up close. You see what your Guard or Reserve employee actually does in uniform.

All 54 State Committees host them. Some are big national events. Others are local. You might watch a training exercise, ride along on equipment, or talk with the unit leadership. The goal is simple. When you understand the work, you understand why the leave matters and what your employee brings back.

Why bother? Because it changes how you see military leave. A manager who has stood on the flight line gets it. They stop seeing drill weekends as an inconvenience. They start seeing the leadership and skills your employee is building on your behalf, for free. You can ask your state committee about upcoming Bosslift events through the ESGR employer programs page.

How Should a Midsize Employer Use ESGR Day to Day?

You do not need a big program to get value from ESGR. Here is a simple way to fold it into how you run things.

Start by signing the Statement of Support. It takes minutes and signals your intent. Then bring in a volunteer for a briefing, so your managers know the rules before a problem shows up. Keep the Customer Service Center number handy for one-off questions. And the moment a real dispute appears, call for mediation instead of letting it grow.

The awards and Bosslift events come later, once you have a few Guard and Reserve staff and a track record. They are the reward for doing the basics well. They also become recruiting fuel, the kind that helps you compete for reliable, trained people.

Supporting military staff well is part of a larger habit. The same managers who handle drill weekends with grace tend to be the ones who retain people. If you want to go deeper on that, see how to train managers to retain veteran hires and why veteran employees tend to stay.

How Is ESGR Different From USERRA and DOL VETS?

People mix these up. They are not the same, and knowing the difference saves you confusion.

USERRA is the law. It is the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. It sets out what you owe Guard and Reserve employees on leave and when they return. The statute lives at 38 U.S.C. 4301 and following. ESGR does not enforce it.

DOL VETS is the enforcer. The Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service investigates formal USERRA complaints. If mediation fails, this is where a complaint goes.

ESGR is the helper in the middle. It educates, it mediates, and it recognizes. It is the friendly resource you call first, before anything turns formal. Think of ESGR as the bridge that keeps you out of the DOL VETS process in the first place. For the full rules on what you owe, our USERRA obligations guide walks through it step by step.

Where Does BMR Fit In?

ESGR helps you keep and support the Guard and Reserve members you already employ. The next question is how you find more of them. That is where we come in.

Best Military Resume runs a large, active pool of military talent. More than 1,000 new profiles get added every month. Over 60,000 resumes have been built on the platform. When you are ready to hire Guard, Reserve, and veteran candidates, that is the pipeline.

If you want access to that pool, reach out through our hire page. We connect midsize employers with the kind of reliable, trained people ESGR exists to support. You handle the support side with ESGR. We help you fill the seats.

Supporting Guard and Reserve employees is not hard. It just needs the right resource on speed dial. ESGR is that resource. Sign the Statement of Support, train your managers, and call before you act. Do that, and the rest takes care of itself.