University of Texas System

UT System Administration Policy Library -- Policy INT105

Military Leave

Responsible Officer: Assistant Vice Chancellor for Employee Services
Sponsoring Office: Office of Employee Services
Effective Date: November 1, 2001
Last Reviewed: July 27, 2007
Next Scheduled Review: July 1, 2009
Errors or changes to: policyoffice@utsystem.edu

Policy Statement
Rationale
Scope
Website Address For This Policy
Related Policies, Requirements Or Standards
Contacts
Definitions
Responsibilities
Procedures

Forms Tools/Online Processes

Appendix

POLICY STATEMENT

The University of Texas System will grant military leave to employees who are called to active duty with:

the Armed Forces of the United States;
a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States; or
State Military Forces (includes Texas National Guard and Texas State Guard)

The Armed Forces of the United States & the reserve components of the Armed Forces of the United States are called to active duty at the order of the President.

State Military Forces, including the Texas National Guard and the Texas State Guard, are called to duty by the Governor.

RATIONALE

This policy provides for the administration of leave taken by employees for military
purposes.

SCOPE

All Offices of UT System Administration

WEBSITE ADDRESS FOR THIS POLICY

http://www.utsystem.edu/policy/policies/int105.html

RELATED STATUTES, POLICIES, REQUIREMENTS OR STANDARDS

UT System Administration Policies & Standards

Other Statutes, Policies & Standards

CONTACTS

If you have any questions about UT System Administration Policy INT 105, Military Leave, contact the following offices:

Subject	Office Name	Telephone Number	Email/URL
Human Resources/ Employee Benefits	Office of Employee Services	512-499-4587	esc@utsystem.edu

DEFINITIONS

The "uniformed services" or the Armed Forces of the United States:

Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard
Army Reserve, Naval Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, or Coast Guard Reserve
Army National Guard or Air National Guard
Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service
Any other category of persons designated by the President in time of war or emergency

State military service:
Includes Texas State Guard and Texas National Guard, when called to duty by the Governor

Reserve militia:
The persons liable to serve, but not serving, in the state military forces

State militia:
The state military forces and the reserve militia

RESPONSIBILITIES

University of Texas System Administration

Grants military leave to employees who are called to active duty with the Armed Forces of the United States.
Places the employee in the appropriate paid or unpaid military leave status for the duration of the active duty period.
Restores the employee to the same position held or a position of similar seniority, status and pay on return from active duty.
Continues group insurance benefits.

Maintains accrued leave during absence and restores on return to work.

Employee returning from Active Military Duty

Provides copy of military orders to supervisor and the Office of Employee Services.

Returns to job as required.

PROCEDURES

1.1 Paid Military Leave
An employee who is called to active duty or authorized training as a member of any of these groups is entitled to a paid leave of absence without loss of performance review rating, other personal leave, or salary for up to fifteen working days in a federal fiscal year, (October 1 through September 30).

The fifteen days of military leave are working days and not calendar days; these days need not be consecutive.

1.2 Military Emergency Leave
State military forces normally train one weekend per month. Employees who are members of the State or National Guard and are called for duty by the Governor because of an emergency are entitled to unlimited emergency leave with full pay, without loss of military leave or other personal leave. This time does not count against the allowed fifteen days of annual paid military leave.

An employee who is called to active duty or authorized training as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States or a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States for a period exceeding fifteen working days in a federal fiscal year will be granted military emergency leave for the duration of the active service for the days in excess of fifteen. This emergency leave will not be at full pay, but at differential pay.

Differential pay will be paid to a member of the military on active duty who has been placed on military emergency leave. This pay is the difference in the employee’s military pay and the normal pay in his/her position at UT System.

2. PROCEDURES

2.1 Employer responsibilities
The responsibilities of the UT System Administration toward an employee who is on active military duty are:

Grant the employee unlimited emergency leave if called to active duty with federal or state military forces.

Place the employee in the appropriate paid or unpaid military leave status for the duration of the active duty period; the employee should not be terminated. A termination can cause a loss in longevity service credit and health and life insurance.

Restore the employee who has satisfied the required procedures for return from active military duty to the same position held or a position of similar seniority, status, pay on return from active duty.
Continue group insurance benefits as if at work; if employee drops benefits, restore at previous levels on return to work.

Maintain accrued leave during absence and restore on return to work.
There is no break in service if the employee is on military LWOP, even if it is for a full calendar month; that month will be counted in the calculation of total state service, and applied toward satisfying the six continuous months of service requirement for using vacation leave.

Pay Differential
Sufficient emergency leave will be granted to result in differential pay on unpaid military leave if the employee's military gross pay is less than the employee's state gross pay; the combination of emergency leave and military pay may not exceed the employee's actual state gross pay. “Military gross pay” for purposes of calculating the pay differential does not include money the employee receives for service in a combat zone; as hardship pay; or for being separated from the employee's family.

Training, Retraining
Reasonable efforts must be made to train or otherwise qualify a returning service member for a position within the organization; an employee who cannot be qualified in a similar position will be placed in another position of lesser status and pay which he/she is qualified to perform, with full seniority.

Training, retraining and/or other accommodations will be provided to persons with service-connected disabilities; if a disability cannot be accommodated after reasonable efforts by the employer, the employee will be reemployed in some other position he/she is qualified to perform which is the "nearest approximation" of the position to which the person was otherwise entitled, in terms of status and pay, and with full seniority.

2.2 Employee Responsibilities
The responsibilities of an employee returning from active military duty are:

Provide copy of military orders on receipt to supervisor and the Office of Employee Services.
Return to job as required – Time limits for returning to work depend, with the exception of fitness-for-service examinations, on the duration of the employee’s military service.

Service of 1 to 30 days. The employee must report to his/her employer by the beginning of the first regularly scheduled workday that would fall eight hours after the end of the calendar day. For example, an employer cannot require a service member who returns home at 10:00 p.m. to report to work at 12:30 a.m. that night. But the employer can require the employee to report for the 6:00 a.m. shift the next morning. If, due to no fault of the employee, timely reporting back to work would be impossible or unreasonable, the employee must report back to work as soon as possible.

Fitness Exam. The time limit for reporting back to work for an employee who is absent from work in order to take a fitness-for service examination is the same as the one above for those absent for 1 to 30 days; applies regardless of the length of the employee’s absence.

Service of 31 to 180 days. An application for reemployment must be submitted no later than 14 days after completion of service. If submission of a timely application is impossible or unreasonable through no fault of the employee, the application must be submitted as soon as possible. If the 14th day falls on a day when the offices are not open, or there is otherwise no one available to accept the application, the time extends to the next business day.

Service of 181 or more days. An application for reemployment must be submitted no later than 90 days after completion of military service. If the 90th day falls on a day when the offices are not open, or there is otherwise no one available to accept the application, the time extends to the next business day.

Disability incurred or aggravated. The reporting or application deadlines are extended for up to 2 years for persons who are hospitalized or convalescing because of a disability incurred or aggravated during the period of military service. The 2-year period will be extended by the minimum time required to accommodate a circumstance beyond an individual’s control that would make reporting within the 2-year period impossible or unreasonable.

Unexcused delay. An employee’s reemployment rights are not automatically forfeited if the employee fails to report to work or to apply for reemployment within the required time limits, but the employee is then subject to the employer’s rules governing unexcused absences.

FORMS AND TOOLS / ONLINE PROCESSES

None

APPENDIX

None

keywords: military, National Guard, leave, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, armed forces, deployment, time off, absence, HR, human resources

INT105 - Military Leave

CONTENTS