STATE OF LOUISIANA

DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

General Circular No. 001472

To: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource Directors

Subject: Proposed Rule Changes on Military Leave

Issue Date: February 13, 2002

The State Civil Service Commission will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2002 to consider the following rule proposals. The hearing will begin at 9:00 a.m. and will be held in the Department of Civil Service Second Floor Hearing Room, DOTD Annex Building, 1201 Capitol Access Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The following will be considered at the meeting:

11.26 Military Leave.

The provisions of this rule shall apply to members of a Reserve Component of the Armed Forces of the United States who are called to active duty for military purposes, and to members of National Guard Units which are called to active duty as a result of a non-local or non-state emergency.

(a) Military Leave with Pay.

1. Provided they give advance notice, employees serving on job appointment, provisional, probationary or permanent status, shall be entitled to military leave with pay.

2. No advance notice is required when such notice is either precluded by military necessity, or otherwise impossible or unreasonable.

3. Maximum military leave with pay for military purposes is 15 working days per calendar year.

(b) Use of Annual and Compensatory Leave for Military Purposes.

1. Employees serving on job appointment, provisional, probationary or permanent status, who give advance notice of military obligations and apply for annual or compensatory leave for military purposes, shall be granted such leave.

2. No advance notice is required when such notice is either precluded by military necessity, or otherwise impossible or unreasonable.

Employees serving on job appointment, provisional, probationary or permanent status, who have either exhausted annual leave and compensatory time or choose not to use their paid leave for military purposes, shall be placed on leave without pay. This period of leave without pay for military purposes shall not exceed six years. After six years, he/she shall be separated from the classified service. This rule does not extend the term of temporary appointments which were made for less than six years; if the original term of the appointment was less than six years, the agency may end the appointment as originally scheduled and the employee may be separated.

(d) Rights Upon Return.

Provisional, probational and permanent employees and employees serving on job appointments returning to their classified positions under the provisions of this Rule or Rule 8.19, which governs time frame requirements for restoration to state employment, shall return with such seniority, status, pay, and annual and sick leave accrual rates as they would have had if they had not been absent for military training or military active duty; however, both provisional and probational status shall be governed by the provisions of Rule 9.3.

(e) Repeal entire section as it applied only to Persian Gulf Crisis of 1990.

(f) Repeal entire section as it applied only to Persian Gulf Crisis of 1990.

(g) The provisions of this section of the rule apply to employees serving on job appointment, provisional, probationary or permanent status, who are called to active duty, and who are on Leave Without Pay by choice or because all annual and/or compensatory leave has been exhausted. The provisions of this subsection (g) shall apply retroactively to September 11, 2001.

1. When Military Leave with Pay as provided in Rule 11.26(a) has been exhausted, an employee whose military base pay is less than his state base pay shall be paid the difference between his military base pay and his state base pay. Such payment shall be made on the same frequency and manner as the employee’s regular state pay, unless other voluntary arrangements are made. Employees receiving the pay differential shall provide to agency officials any documentation appropriate to ensure the payment amount is calculated correctly. Employees who choose to use their annual leave during their period of military absence shall not be eligible for receipt of the pay differential, unless the leave was used between September 11, 2001, and the date of the adoption of this rule, in which case subparagraph (4) shall apply.

2. Employees shall continue to accrue sick and annual leave for the entire period of service, beginning the date of the service. Leave shall be accrued and credited on the same basis as though the employee had not been activated. Leave earned shall be credited to the employee upon his return from active duty.

3. Employees who are on Leave Without Pay shall receive, each calendar year, the full 15-days of Military Leave with Pay provided in Rule 11.26(a)3. The pay differential allowed in 11.26(g)1 shall be suspended until the 15-day Military Leave with Pay period is exhausted and the employee returns to Leave Without Pay status.

4. If paid leave has been used during any portion of service from September 11, 2001, through the date of adoption of this rule, an employee who chooses to use the pay differential option shall have his leave balance recredited with a leave amount equal to the value of the pay differential the employee would have received has this rule been in effect on September 11, 2001.

EXPLANATION:

Employees who are called to military duty for an extended tour of duty receive 15 days of military leave with pay each calendar year. Once military leave with pay is exhausted, those employees must either use their own annual / compensatory leave, or be placed on leave without pay once their military leave has been exhausted. This creates an undue hardship for those employees whose military base pay is less than their state base pay.

The proposed change provides for a maximum of 15 days of military pay per calendar year, regardless of the number of "tours" an individual serves during the calendar year. For all employees whose military base pay is less than state base pay, once military leave with pay is exhausted during a calendar year, the employee may be placed on leave without pay and receive a payment equal to the difference between his military base pay and his state base pay. An employee with no annual/compensatory leave will be placed on leave without pay and thus will automatically receive the benefit of this rule; an employee who does have annual and/or compensatory leave may choose to use his leave, or may choose to be placed on leave without pay (thus preserving his personal leave balances) to receive the benefit of this rule.

In addition to the changes listed above, changes have been made throughout the rule to allow the rule to apply to provisional appointees as well as the others originally listed.

8.19 Restoration of Duty Upon Return from Military Service.

(a) If still qualified to perform the duties of such position, be restored by his department to such position or to a position of like seniority, status and pay; or

(b) If not qualified to perform the duties of such position by reason of disability sustained during such service but qualified to perform duties of any other position in the department where he formerly worked be restored to such other position the duties of which he is qualified to perform as will provide him like seniority, status and pay or the nearest approximation thereof consistent with the circumstances in his case.

EXPLANATION:

Provisional appointments have been added to Rule 11.26; it was necessary to add provisional appointments to this rule also in order to remain consistent.

Persons interested in making comments relative to these proposals may do so at the public hearing or by writing to the Director of State Civil Service at Post Office Box 94111, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9111.

If any accommodations are needed, please notify us prior to this meeting.

Sincerely,

Allen H. Reynolds
Director