Every officer and employee of the state or of any county, city, or other political subdivision thereof who is a member of the Washington National Guard or of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps Reserve of the United States, or of any organized reserve or armed forces of the United States shall be entitled to and shall be granted military leave of absence from such employment for a period not exceeding 15 working days during each year. Such leave shall be granted in order that the person may take report for active duty, when called, or report for active training duty in such manner and at such time as she or he may be ordered to active duty or active training duty. Such military leave of absence shall be in addition to any vacation or sick leave to which the officer or employee might otherwise be entitled, and shall not involve any loss of efficiency rating, privileges, or pay. During the period of military leave, the officer or employee shall receive from the state, or the county, city, or other political subdivision, his or her normal pay.
BR, October 1949; S-B 121, April 1972: with Presidential approval; RCW 38.40.060.
In addition, a USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act) poster, describing these rights can be found in the tools and forms section.
Is Military Leave Paid or Unpaid?
Each calendar year from October 1 through the following September 30, employees are entitled to 15 work days of paid Military Leave when called to active duty, or active duty training in the National Guard; the US Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine or Navy reserves; or uniformed positions in the United States Public Health Service. Any additional time on active duty military leave is unpaid.
If an employee has already used his/her paid military leave entitlement as of September 30th he/she became eligible for another 15 days of paid military leave beginning October 1st.
How Much Military Leave is an Employee Entitled to?
Generally for the duration of active duty, up to 5 years.
Are the Employee's Benefits Covered During Unpaid Leave?
Military leave of less than 31 days is covered by employer-paid medical and dental benefits to the end of the month in which the leave occurs. Military leave of 31 days or greater is covered by employer paid medical and dental insurance while the employee on leave is in pay status of at least 5%. Under University policy paid leave may be spaced out (interspersed) on a monthly basis to retain employer paid medical and dental insurance benefits while on military leave. However the employee remains responsible for any employee contributions or copays.
The following types of leave or paid time may be interspersed to retain employer paid benefits:
Employer-paid medical and dental benefits end at midnight on the last day of the month in which the employee is in pay status a minimum of 5% pay distribution. The employee can then elect to continue insurance coverage by self-payment of premiums as outlined at:
For other insurance coverage (life, optional ltd etc) employees called to active duty service should review the details provided online by selecting Self-Pay Options in the related links section.
What Return to Work Rights Does an Employee on Military Leave Have?
Generally, the employee returning from active duty has the right to return to the position he/she left. More information about return rights (including seniority, salary etc) is detailed on the USERRA poster.
When you are notified that a faculty member or Librarian will need to use Military Leave an OPUS entry will be required. Please determine whether the individual wants to immediately exhaust their Military leave or space it out over fifteen months to retain UW Employer-Paid Benefits.
*If less than 100%, MLP percentage should match appointment FTE percentage.