Thirty employers have been chosen as finalists for the 2016 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, as chosen by the Department of Defense's (DoD) Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) office from 2,424 different nominations.
Nearly 50 percent of those in the U.S. military are a part of the National Guard and Reserve, while living civilian lives. The Freedom Award is for those employers that provide the most support to these Guard and Reserve members and is the highest honor an employer can receive from the DoD.
Since 1996, 220 employers have received the Freedom Award in three categories: employers with 500 or more employees, employers with less than 500 employees and public-sector employers. ESGR has hosted the award program every year, giving out up to 15 awards per year. For 2016, the finalists include 11 large employers, 10 small employers and nine employers in the public sector.
"These 30 finalists span the diversity of America's workforce and prove every employer, whether large, small, public or private, can go above and beyond for our citizen warriors,” Alex Baird, ESGR's executive director, said. The winning employers will be announced in June, followed by an awards program in August.
To view the full list of nominees, visit http://tinyurl.com/zuss7jj.
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