Employee Manual 2023 - Flipbook - Page 40
eligible for paid leave, the employee must provide military orders or other official military
documentation validating military leave requirements to their supervisor as soon as possible. If
active duty exceeds 15 regularly scheduled workdays in any fiscal year, the employee may elect to
be placed on unpaid leave of absence or utilize their accumulated paid-time for the remainder of
the training period.
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Policy:
Overview: The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”) grants
certain rights and protections in employment to individuals involved in the uniformed services and
prohibits discrimination in hiring, promotion, reemployment, termination and benefits because of
past or present membership in, application to, or obligation to perform, such military service.
“Uniformed Services” includes any active or reserve unit of the Army, Navy, Marine Corp, Air Force
and Coast Guard, the Army and Air National Guards, the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health
Service, and any other category of persons designated by the President in time of war or
emergency. However, USERRA does not cover state military call ups of the National Guard
members for disaster relief, riots, etc.
“Service” in the uniformed services means the performance of duty on a voluntary or involuntary
basis including active duty, active duty for training, initial active duty for training, inactive duty
training, full-time National Guard duty, absence from work for an examination to determine a
person’s fitness for any of the above and the performance of funeral honors duty.
Generally, cumulative leave periods for up to five years of service are protected under USERRA.
However, under some circumstances, protected service is exempt from the five year limitation.
Also, while leave is generally unpaid (unless prohibited by law), upon request, employees may use
vacation time or other paid leave that was available to them prior to the commencement of a
period of service. However, employees will not be required to use such paid time for military
service.
The following explains in summary fashion some of the additional rights provided by USERRA.
Benefits During Leave and Upon Reinstatement: While on leave, an employee may elect
continued health insurance coverage for themselves and their dependents. For leave periods of up
to 30 days, employees shall be required to pay only their normal share, if any, of the cost of
coverage. For longer periods of leave, employees who elect coverage shall pay 102% of the entire
premium. Coverage ends on the day after the deadline for seeking reemployment or 18 months
after the leave of absence began, whichever comes first.
To the extent employees would be eligible to receive other non-seniority benefits (e.g. holiday pay
or term life insurance) while on other types of furloughs or leaves of absence, the City shall provide
those same benefits (under the same terms applicable to other types of leave) during periods of
service in the uniformed services.
Employees who are reinstated by the City following their leave shall receive their accrued seniority
as if continuously employed. This applies to other rights and benefits that are determined by
City of Plymouth Employee manual - Page 40 – March 2023
