Military Leave

Leave shall be granted to eligible employees for certain periods of service in the uniformed services. No agent or employee of the State shall discriminate against any State employee or applicant for State employment because of their membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service or obligation for service in the Uniformed Services.

All full-time or part-time (20 hours or more) permanent, time-limited, probationary, or trainee employees are covered by this policy. Temporary employees are not eligible for military leave benefits; however, they are covered under the “Reinstatement” policies as described in the Military Leave Policy.

The employing agency shall require the employee, or an appropriate officer of the uniformed service in which such service is performed, to provide written or verbal notice of any service. The employing agency may require the employee to provide notification of upcoming duty and/or schedule changes as soon as known. For periods eligible for military leave with differential pay, the agency shall require the employee to provide a copy of their Leave and Earnings Statement or similar document covering the period eligible for differential pay.

How to Apply for Military Leave

Types of Military Leave

Military Leave may be paid or unpaid leave (pro-rated for part-time employees) dependent upon the reason for the military activity.

Active Duty Training & Inactive Duty Training: Leave with pay, up to a maximum of 120 hours (pro-rated for part-time employees) shall be granted each Federal fiscal year for both active and inactive duty training. Any additional training time may be covered by vacation/bonus leave or as a leave without pay. If training is not scheduled on the employee’s day off, the employee has the option of requesting that the work schedule be rearranged, or the employee may use any unused portion of the 120 hours, vacation/bonus leave or leave without pay. When a military obligation is less than 31 days, an employee is authorized eight (8) hours recuperation time before and after performance of military duties or military training. This time may also be charged to the 120 hours paid military leave, leave without pay or vacation/bonus leave.

Physical: Eligible employees shall be granted leave with pay for a required physical examination relating to membership in the uniformed services.

Reserve Active Duty: Eligible employee shall receive up to 30 calendar days of pay based on the employee’s current annual salary. After the 30-day period, members shall receive differential pay for any period of involuntary service. This pay shall be the difference between military basic pay and the employee’s annual salary, if military pay is the lesser.

Extended Active Duty and Other Military Leave Without Pay: Military leave without pay shall be granted for all uniformed service duty that is not covered by military leave. Prior to going on military leave without pay, the employee may choose to have accumulated vacation or bonus leave paid in a lump sum (maximum of 240 hours of vacation leave), exhausted, or retained (part or all) until their return. The employee shall retain any unused sick leave. FLSA non-exempt employees may exhaust any compensatory time off prior to exhausting leave or it may be paid in a lump sum.

Civil Air Patrol: Although the Civil Air Patrol is not a reserve component, it is an auxiliary to the Air Force. Its members are not subject to obligatory service. When performing missions or encampments, authorized and requested by the U.S. Air Force or emergency missions for the State at the request of the Governor or the Secretary, Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, its members are entitled to military leave with pay not to exceed 120 hours (prorated for part-time employees) in any calendar year.

State Defense Militia: The State Defense Militia is considered a reserve to the National Guard, but it is not a reserve component of the U. S. Armed Forces. Its members are not subject to obligatory service unless they are assigned to a unit that is ordered or called out by the Governor.

Only under the following conditions are State employees entitled to paid military leave:

  • infrequent special activities in the interest of the State, usually not exceeding one day, when so ordered by the Governor or his authorized representative
  • State duty for missions related to disasters, search and rescue, etc., again, only when ordered by the Governor or his authorized representative.

Under these conditions, an employee may be granted paid military leave not to exceed 120 hours (prorated for part-time employees) during any calendar year.

 

Reinstatement

The agency is required to provide the same treatment that would have been afforded had the employee not left to perform uniformed service, which includes temporary and intermittent employees.

Reinstatement shall be made if the employee reports to work or applied for reinstatement within the established time limits, unless the service was terminated by the occurrence of either of the following:

  • A separation with a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge.
  • A separation under other than honorable conditions, as characterized pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the applicable military branch.

Employees who resign to enter military service without knowledge of their eligibility for leave without pay and reinstatement benefits, but who are otherwise eligible, shall be reinstated as if they had applied for this benefit.

The time limit for submitting an application for reemployment or reporting back to work depends upon the length of uniformed service. If reporting back or submitting an application for reemployment within the specified periods is impossible or unreasonable through no fault of the employee, the employee must report back or submit the application as soon as possible thereafter. The service duration and periods for returning or applying for reemployment are as follows:

  • less than 31 days, must return at the beginning of the next regularly scheduled work period on the first full day after release from service, taking into account safe travel home plus an 8-hour rest period;
  • more than 30 days (but less than 181 days), must submit a written or verbal application for reemployment with the agency not later than 14 days after the completion of the period of service; or,
  • more than 180 days, by submitting an application with the agency not later than 90 days after the completion of the period of service.

 

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