Give Her the Benefit of a Doubt : All reservists on duty need assurance that they’ll get their jobs back

Whether nurse Debra M. Simpson was supposed to return to her job at a day-care center for chronically ill children on Oct. 1 or two days later seems a small matter.

But, because she was away on active duty in the National Guard, a much more serious issue was raised when she was fired--whether reservists can feel assured that their jobs will be there when they return home. That’s especially important at this time of crisis in the Persian Gulf, when thousands of reservists--many of them low- and middle-income workers--are being asked to leave secure employment in order to serve.

Simpson, of Tustin, actually had planned to go on active duty before Iraqi President Saddam Hussein threw the world into chaos by invading Kuwait. She says her status changed on Aug. 6 and she was ordered to report.

Simpson, as it turned out, was sent to Germany to replace someone who was needed in the Middle East. She says she correctly told her employer, Kangaroo Kids Center for Fragile Children of Santa Ana, when she planned to return to her position as an administrator and pediatric nurse. The center, which is owned by Care Visions Inc., says she showed up two days later than she was expected. They thus claimed she had “abandoned” her job.

Simpson has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit, citing state and federal laws prohibiting the firing or demotion of persons called to active duty. Military officials say Simpson’s firing is the first instance in California of someone being barred from resuming his or her job upon returning from active reserve duty.

No doubt there was a misunderstanding over the exact day Simpson was expected to return to work. Still, employers in such situations should give reservists the benefit of the doubt--or else the nation’s system of relying on reserve forces in times of emergency cannot possibly work.

The company should reassess its decision. Firing Simpson sent the wrong signal to reservists who are fulfilling their duty. They have enough to worry about already.