How to Know Military Leave Laws

There are several federal laws that provide job security and other benefits to employees who take leave to serve in the military. You need to know how these rights apply to you and how to enforce them when you finish your tour of duty.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Learn whether military leave laws will apply to you and your employer. If you are a full-time worker, even if you were only hired a few days ago, you are entitled to military leave protection if you are called in for active duty, training or reserve duty.
2. Give your employer written and verbal explanations of your departure. Federal laws do not require that you give your notice within a certain time frame. If immediate military service is required, than you do not even need to let your employer know ahead of time.
3. Calculate the pay that will be due to you while you are serving. Know that public employers are required by law to pay you during your tour of duty, but private companies may or may not give you any wages at all. Ask your employer to give you the difference between your civilian and military pay if your job has a higher wage than your service pay.
4. Check which benefits you'll receive while you are on military leave. Note that you are only entitled to benefits that are given to employees on other kinds of leave. For example, benefits that are presented to workers on maternity leave must also be awarded to people on military leave.
5. Return to your previous position once you finish military leave. By law, you are entitled to go back to the same position at the salary that you were receiving before you left. Some employers may require that you provide proof of absence if you were gone longer than 30 days.

Tips & Warnings

• If your previous position was filled by someone else while you were on duty, ask to be placed in a similar job or to displace the person who took your line of work.
• Since 2004, military leave laws also require employers to extend any health care benefits for 2 years after returning to duty.
• The "escalator principle" allows returning service people to move into a higher position than when they left, but only in certain fields and trades.
• Employers cannot count time on military leave as vacation time, but the soldier may choose to use some of her vacation time if she is not receiving military pay during leave.