Palm Beach State College Board Policy

Title: Military Leave

Policy Number: 6Hx-18-5.08

Legal Authority: 115.09 FS, 115.14 FS, 295.09 FS, 1012.855 FS, 38 U.S.C.A. § 4312

Date Adopted/Amended: P005.00; Readopted 2/27/1975; Amended 2/20/1977, 12/22/1977, 6/19/2001, 5/12/2009, 6/18/2024

Policy Statement

The College recognizes and supports the contributions of faculty and staff that have chosen to serve in the military.

Scope of Policy

This policy is established to inform and provide leave and benefits afforded to service members in the National Guard or reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States.

Pay and Benefits

Military leave shall be granted to eligible employees, in accordance with Federal Law and Florida Statutes:

The first thirty (30) days of leave for deployment, training, or active duty shall be paid. Leave beyond the thirty (30) days shall be without pay. An employee may choose to use accrued time off beyond the 30 days.
Employees granted military leave are entitled to the same rights and privileges as an employee granted other types of leaves of absences.
Vacation and sick days do not accrue after thirty (30) days of paid time.
The balance of any unused accumulated leave shall be retained while employed.

Notice Requirements

The employee (or an appropriate officer of the uniformed service in which such service is performed) must give advance written or oral notice of service leave to the employer. An employee shall provide notice as soon as it foreseeable. The advance notice requirement shall be waived if deemed “military necessity” as defined in regulations of the Secretary of Defense as “a mission, operation, exercise or requirement that is classified, or pending an ongoing mission, operation exercise or requirement that may be compromised or otherwise adversely affected by public knowledge”. (32 CFR 104.3) Advance notice shall be waived if the giving of notice is otherwise impossible or unreasonable as cited under Section 4312(a)(1)/20CFR 1002.85.

A copy of the applicable orders or applicable documentation requiring service shall be provided for each leave request.

Failure to provide advance notice or applicable documentation may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

Return and Reemployment Requirements

An employee may return to work or apply for reemployment if the employee meets the reemployment requirements:

1. The employee has not exceeded USERRA’s five-year cumulative limit as determined by documentation submitted for leave.

2. The employee reports back to work or applies for reemployment in a timely manner as set forth in USERRA as follows:

1-30 days of service – report the next scheduled workday after safe travel and 8 hours rest.
31-180 days of service – notify the college within 14 days after completion of service.
181+ days of service – notify the college within 90 days after completion of service.

3. The employee’s separation from service was not one of the following:

Separation from service with a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge.
Separation from service under other than honorable conditions as set forth in regulations of the military branch.
Dismissal of a commissioned officer in certain situations involving court martial. (Section 1161(a) of Title 10)
Dropping an individual from the rolls when the individual has been absent without authority for more than 3 months or is imprisoned by a civilian court. (Section 1161(b) of Title 10.)

An employee on military leave for 31 days or longer must provide documentation such as discharge papers, endorsed orders, or a letter from a proper military authority for verification. If the employee does not provide satisfactory documentation because it is not readily available or does not exist, the College will still reemploy the employee to their former position and pay. The College has the right to request information via the online database if the employee does not have, or does not supply documentation.

If, after reemploying the employee, documentation becomes available that shows one or more of the reemployment requirements were not met, the College may discipline the employee up to and including termination as well as terminating any rights or benefits that may have been granted. Section 4312(f)(3)(A)/ 20 CFR 1002.122.