OLPE ? It didn’t seem fair to 12-year-old Tanner Burenheide that his father served in two wars but often had to work on Veterans Day.

So the seventh-grader approached a state lawmaker about the issue and today will testify before the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs in favor of House Bill 2728, which would require employers to give veterans the day off with pay each Nov. 11.

“So many of them have to work,” Tanner said. “They have to blow a vacation day or if they don’t have vacation, they miss out on all activities.”

The boy’s father, Scott Burenheide, recently retired after 20 years in the Army, including time overseas during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom.

“I’ve missed countless parades and activities,” Burenheide said.

Burenheide does get Memorial Day off. But he says Veterans Day deserves equal status.

“There are two types of veterans in the world, dead ones and living ones,” he said. “All need to be honored.”

Tanner began expressing concern about the situation last Veterans Day. He spoke with a member of the church, Rep. Peggy Mast, R-Emporia. She introduced the bill Jan. 25.

The bill applies only to veterans who have retired or been honorably discharged from the U.S. military. It would make it a misdemeanor crime for an employer to keep veterans from taking the day off or penalize them for doing so.

The legislation has a long way to go before possible passage. But if it does become law, Tanner would follow in the footsteps of another Kansan.

In 1953, an Emporia man, Al King, came up with the idea that Armistice Day become Veterans Day. It passed Congress and became law.