This policy applies to all appointed staff at Indiana University.

1. Eligible employees are entitled to a paid leave of absence for military training. The employee receives pay for all scheduled workdays during the training period.

   1. This paid leave will start on the first date shown on the military order and will continue until 15 consecutive workdays have elapsed -- or until the employee returns to work -- whichever occurs first.

   2. Paid leave will not exceed 15 paid days in any military year (October 1 through September 30).

2. Employees are entitled to this 15-day paid leave for active duty, training duties, or reserve call-ups for which the employee has military orders.

1. Normally, the paid military leave of absence does not apply to training drills regularly scheduled on the weekend. To receive pay for weekend drills, an employee must meet all three criteria listed below. Any such paid time will be deducted from the 15-day paid leave annual allotment in Section A. above.

   1. The employee's regular work schedule must include Saturdays or Sundays.

   2. The employee must be scheduled to work the weekend of the training.

   3. The employee must be ordered for military training.

1. If an employee incurs absences for more than 15 days training, he or she may do the following:

   1. Charge the absence to accrued time off (vacation, income protection time, compensatory time, or holidays)

   2. Be absent without pay and with time off accrual

2. Using accrued time off will not count against the maximum amount of PTO or vacation allowed in a year.

1. Employees should submit written military orders to their department in advance of the absence or as soon as they are available.

2. Departments must attach the order to the payroll voucher and indicate the number of hours charged to military training.

E. Extended active military duty

1. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 1002 of Chapter 11 of Title 20, establish rights for employees who serve or have served in the uniformed services of the United States.

2. As soon as a supervisor or department head is informed or becomes aware than an employee is going to leave or has left for military service, the supervisor or department head must consult with the campus Human Resources office to insure university compliance with USERRA and the regulations.

3. A military leave of absence without pay shall be granted for employees in positions other than those that are temporary.  The regulations define temporary positions as those that exist for a brief, non-recurrent period with no reasonable expectation that the employment would have continued for a significant period.

4.  To be eligible, an employee must meet one of the following criteria:

   1. The employee is inducted through Selective Service.

   2. The employee enlists voluntarily.

   3. The employee is called through membership in the uniformed services, defined as the Armed Forces; the Army National Guard; the Air National Guard; the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service; and, for USERRA coverage only, service as an intermittent disaster response appointee upon federal activation of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) or attending NDMS authorized training in support of its federal mission.  

5. The limit on the cumulative time away from work at the university for military service and still retain the USERRA rights is five years.

6. The military leave of absence covers the dates that the employee is actively performing service.  The five year limit may also extend to a later date when the employee is able to obtain a release from active duty. Time between completing the uniformed service and reporting back to work or requesting to return does not count against the five year limit.  The law provides for other exceptions which are to be discussed with the campus Human Resources office if a case arises.

7. An employee who completes uniformed service and requests (orally or in writing) to return to work is to be returned within two weeks of the request if he or she meets the following criteria:

   1. The employee was discharged from military service under honorable conditions.

   2. The employee requests to return to work within the time limits specified in Policy 7.5, Reemployment Provisions.

   3. The cumulative period of time away from the university in military service does not exceed five years, or if it does, the exceptions provided for in USERRA apply.

8. The employee meeting these criteria shall be returned to the status that he or she would have enjoyed with reasonable certainty as if the military absence had not occurred.  This includes the completion of any evaluation period that would have expired during this time.  See Policy 7.5, Reemployment Provisions for a fuller description of the position, pay, and benefits that an employee who meets these criteria is eligible to receive when he or she returns from military service.

9. The right to return to work exists even if the employee gave an explicit, written statement at the start or during the leave that he or she did not intend to return to work at the university and resigned or was separated based on this statement.  The right to return to work exists whether the employee was placed on a leave of absence or separated employment for military service.

10. An employee returned to work under the provision of USERRA may not be terminated except for cause for 180 days after his or her date of return if the most recent period of uniformed service was less than 181 days or for one year after the date of return if the most recent period of uniformed service was more than 180 days.

11. Employees requesting to return to work who do not have an honorable discharge will be reviewed on an individual basis.

F. Leaves for military families

1. An employee who is a family member of a person on active duty in the United States Armed Forces is eligible for military family leave.

2. The employee must have been employed for at least 12 months and worked at least 1,500 hours in the 12 months immediately preceding the day that the military family leave begins, will be granted upon request, a leave for a total of  10 workdays per year during one or more of the following periods:

   1. Within the 30-day period before a family member begins active duty;

   2. During the period that a family member is on active duty; or

   3. During the 30-day period following a family member's return from active duty.

   4. The time can be taken in full or split amongst the periods.

3. To qualify as a family member, the employee must be the spouse, parent (biological, adoptive, or court-appointed guardian or custodian), biological grandparent, or sibling (by blood, half-blood, or adoption).
4. Active duty is defined as full-time service on active duty orders in the armed forces of the United States or the Indiana Army or Air National Guard for a period that exceeds 89 consecutive calendar days. Armed forces of the United States means the active or reserve components of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, or Merchant Marine.
5. The employee must use accrued Vacation or PTO before taking any of the time off without pay.

   1. Vacation or PTO time used during such a leave will not count towards annual limits on the use of such time.

   2. Time off without pay during such a leave is an excused absence with benefit accrual and will not count in any attendance-related policies.

6. An employee is to provide written notice, including a copy of the active duty orders, if available, at least 30 days before the date on which the leave is to begin, or as soon as possible if the active duty orders are issued less than 30 days before the date the leave is to begin

Revised July 2007

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