§ 86-520. Military leave.

(a)

Leave without pay. Any permanent employee who leaves the service of the county to join the military forces of the United States, or is called to active duty for service or training, shall be placed on military leave without pay, in accordance with conditions set forth in federal and state laws.

(1)

Duration of leave. Military leave without pay shall extend through a date of one year from the date on which the employee is relieved from the military service.

(2)

Return to work. An employee shall be entitled to be reemployed in his former position or its equivalent, provided he requests reemployment with the human resources division within one year of the date of his discharge under honorable conditions from military service or hospitalization resulting from military service, and is physically and mentally capable of performing the normal duties of the position.

(3)

Seniority and benefits. The returning employee shall receive employment preference credit for all time spent on military leave without pay and shall also be entitled to any increases in salary or any advancement in grade that would normally have occurred had the employee not been on military leave without pay. This shall not include any increases or advancement in grade which would normally be dependent on meritorious performance of the duties of the position.

(4)

Reemployment when previous position no longer exists. In the event a position vacated by an employee entering the armed services no longer exists at the time he qualified to return to work, such person shall be entitled to be reemployed in another position of the same class or equivalent in the county service, provided such reemployment does not necessitate the demotion or layoff of another person who was appointed at an earlier date than such person returning from military leave without pay.

(b)

Leave with pay. A permanent employee who is a member of the National Guard, or an organized military reserve of the United States, will be allowed a maximum of 240 working hours leave of absence in any one annual period when called to active duty, or inactive duty in which he is engaged in training, in accordance with federal and state law, as amended. An employee on a leave of absence to perform active military service shall receive full pay for the first 30 days. The county shall continue to provide health insurance and other existing benefits as required by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

(Ord. No. 81-19, § 16.10, 9-3-81; Ord. No. 2017-27, § I, 11-16-17; Ord. No. 2018-16, § I, 12-4-18)