Employees and Military Leave

WASHINGTON - Have you had an employee or employees that have been called up National Guard or Reserve duty? Perhaps you have employees that can potentially be called up. Do you know what you can or can't allow your employees to do? Here are some facts that you may not know about that can help you when an employee is called to active duty.

Employers cannot refuse to allow an employee to attend scheduled drills or annual training. Employees must be excused from work to attend inactive duty training or annual training and the employer must treat the employee as if he or she has not been absent.

There is a limit to the amount of military leave an employer must permit. There is no longer any differentiation between voluntary and involuntary military duty, but there is a five-year cumulative service limit on the amount of voluntary military leave an employee can use and still retain reemployment rights. The five-year total does not include: inactive duty training; involuntary recall to active duty, or additional requirements determined and certified in writing by the Service Secretary, and considered to be necessary for professional development or for completion of skill training and retraining.

Employees must give prior notice for a leave of absence for military duty unless precluded by military necessity. What constitutes timeliness was not detailed by Congress under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

These are just some of the things that employers should be aware of when employees are called for active duty. For more tips and answers to your questions visit www.esgr.org.