When a permanent or probationary employee receives orders calling him or her to military service, the employee must provide notice to the employer. Employees must provide notice at least 30 days prior to departure when feasible. If 30 days’ notice is not feasible, employees should provide notice as far in advance as possible to your supervisor and your agency’s human resources representative.
When giving notice, the employee will review the appropriate Smart Guide and report the need for leave on the absence calendar in Workday per the applicable Smart Guide. Consult your human resources associate for information regarding your other benefits while on military leave.
- For service less than 30 days or intermittent military service, employees will report appropriate Military time off hours and days in Workday – See Smart Guide – Military Time off – Military Hour(s)/Day(s)
A copy of the annual training schedule of intermittent military service is the preferred document to show verification. This can be provided at the beginning of the Federal Fiscal Year. If a service member’s training schedule changes, a letter from the military unit will be sufficient for that change.
- For service in excess of 30 days, employees will report this in Workday as a Military Service Leave and they will receive appropriate information and forms to complete. See Smart Guide – Military Leave of Absence - More than 30 days
A copy of the orders for service in excess of 30 days is the preferred document to show verification. If military orders are not available within the first 30 days of the leave, a verification notice may be sent to the military unit.
Resources
Your Rights Under USERRA
Iowa Code 29A.28
11 IAC 63.9(8A) Military Leave
Forms
Military Leave Checklist for State of Iowa Employees
Military Service - Voluntary Written Notice of Intent Not to Return
Checklist
A military service leave checklist was designed to help streamline the process for the employee as well to ensure consistency.This checklist acts as a quick reminder of what tasks need to be completed before, during and after your military service leave. It is not an exhaustive list of tasks or duties involved in the military leave process.
Providing Notice and Verification
Notice may be verbal or written and it does not need to follow a particular format. Employers may send a memo to the employee’s command to verify service dates. For intermittent military service, a copy of the annual training schedule is the preferred document to show verification. If a service member’s schedule changes a letter from the military unit will be sufficient for that change. For military service leave in excess of 30 days, a copy of the orders is the preferred document to show verification. If military orders are not available within the first 30 days of the leave, a verification notice may be sent to the military unit.
The employee should provide notice at least 30 days prior to departure when it is feasible to do so. If it is not feasible to provide at least a 30-day notice, the employee should provide notice as far in advance as is reasonable under the circumstances.
The employee may resign or may request to be placed on military leave for up to five years or longer in certain circumstances. Employees have return rights whether they resign or take military leave.
30 Paid Military Service Days
Employees who are called for military duty or are enlisting as a member of the National Guard, organized reserve, or any component part of the military of the State of Iowa or the United States and are a non-temporary employee, will be paid their regular salary for time spent on military service for up to 30 days per calendar year.
A workday is defined as the employee’s regularly scheduled hours worked in a day. If the employee is scheduled to work four hours per day, the employee will receive 30 four-hour military service days with pay.
Likewise, if the employee is scheduled to work 16 hours per day the employee will receive 30 16-hour military service days with pay. If the scheduled shift of an employee encompasses more than one calendar day, the employee shall only be required to take one day for that workday. (For Department of Defense Firefighters who will be on orders for more than 30 consecutive days, please contact your agency Human Resource for clarification of reporting days).
If the employee chooses to resign for military service reasons, the employee will be paid for all 30 workdays, provided by law, or the remainder if some has already been used for the calendar year, from the employee’s last day at work. The paid military days will be recorded on the absence calendar in Workday and the resignation date will be the last day of the 30 military days. Employees who resign their position when entering active military service will be paid a lump sum of their accrued vacation on their final pay slip.
For military leaves exceeding 30 days, the employee will request a military service leave (paid) and the employee will be paid for all 30 workdays, provided by law, or the remainder if some has already been used for the calendar year, from the employee’s last day at work. If paid military service days are available, the employee may not use leave without pay in lieu of the paid military service days. In addition to these paid military service days, the employee may also elect to use accrued compensatory time and/or accrued vacation before going on military service leave (unpaid). The employer cannot require the employee to use comp or vacation time off. The employee shall complete the Military Leave of Absence Request Exceed 30 days form to designate the use of such time.
Further, if an employee is on military service leave that spans calendar years, he or she is eligible for 30 workdays for each calendar year they remain on military leave.
Vacation, Holidays, Compensatory Time, and Sick Time Off
Employees may elect to use or retain any vacation or compensatory time off that was accrued prior to the employee’s military service leave. An employee may supplement military service leave with vacation or compensatory time. Employees are responsible to elect which type of leave they use by completing the Military Leave of Absence Request Exceed 30 days form. Vacation shall be charged on the employee’s workday basis and recorded on the absence calendar within Workday.
Employees will not accrue vacation, sick time off, or holidays while on military service leave(unpaid). Employees will receive holiday pay for any holidays that occur during the first 30 workdays of paid military service days if the employee is in a paid status on both the last scheduled workday before and the first scheduled workday after the holiday. Employees who resign their position when entering active military service will be paid a lump sum of their accrued vacation on their final pay slip.
Health, Dental, Life and LTD Insurance Benefits
The employee entering active military service leave is eligible for military health and dental benefits through the federal government. Employees receiving family health and dental insurance under the State’s group plans may wish to continue that coverage for their dependents. Coverage under the State’s group plans will continue for the period of time the employee continues to receive uninterrupted military service days, compensatory or vacation pay. Once an employee’s paid time off ends, and the employee begins military service leave (unpaid) of more than 30 calendar days, the State share of the employee’s health and dental insurance will end. In that case, the last month of State share eligibility will be the month in which the employee’s paid time off is exhausted. Once the employee’s eligibility for coverage under the State’s group ends, coverage cannot be reinstated until the employee returns to employment.
The $125 opt-out incentive payment will stop at the end of the month in which the employee's paid time off is exhausted. The opt-out incentive payment will resume the first of the month after the employee returns to work and is in paid status.
The employee may elect to continue coverage under the State’s group plans for their dependents through COBRA for a maximum of 24 months. The employee shall complete the Military Leave of Absence Exceeds 30 days form to designate continuation or to waive coverage. The coverage will be at the employee’s expense. Employees who choose to drop health and dental insurance coverage for dependents during the period of military service leave are eligible for reinstatement of coverage upon return to work with no waiting period. Employees may choose to reinstate coverage the first of the month they return to work or the first of the month following return to work.
TRI-CARE insurance benefits are also available to the employee’s dependents. Information regarding these benefits must be obtained from the military. https://www.triwest.com/ or https://www.tricare-west.com. The telephone number is 1-844-866-9378.
The employee’s Life and LTD insurance terminates the date the employee reports for active duty that exceeds 30 days. Military and Veterans’ benefits would then apply. The employee is eligible for Life and LTD coverage upon return to work.
After the employee completes the Military Leave of Absence Exceeds 30 days form to designate continuation or to waive coverage, the State of Iowa agency Human Resources personnel should notify the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Group Benefits team of all employees on military leave with the employee’s first date of military service leave and also the date of last paid time off used. The DAS Group Benefits team will notify the insurance carriers to stop Life and LTD first of the month following the first day of leave (paid or unpaid) and to stop Health and Dental the first of the month following the date in which paid time off is exhausted.
When an employee returns from military leave, the State of Iowa agency Human Resources personnel shall notify the DAS Group Benefits team with the date the employee returns. The DAS Group Benefits team will notify the carriers to reinstate coverage. The employee may choose the effective date to either the first of the month they return or the first of the month following their return.
Performance and Pay Increases
Employees on military service leave (with or without pay) will automatically receive any applicable Across the Board (ATB) increases during the pay period in which the ATB is effective.
Merit increases (within grade) must be given on the employee’s increase eligibility date and are based on performance. To be eligible for a within-grade increase, the employee must have a current performance evaluation on file with an overall rating of at least “meets expectations”. Time spent on military service leave shall be considered to “meet job expectations.”
The supervisor of the employee on military service leave is responsible for completing the Military Leave Performance/Increase form. This form takes the place of the performance evaluation when the employee’s increase eligibility date falls during an extended military service leave of absence, and is used to complete the performance evaluation in Workday. An appointing authority will either default to “meets job expectations” or may rate the employee at “exceeds job expectations.” The supervisor should still have the performance evaluation conversations when the military member returns to work.
SPOC-covered employees will automatically receive a within grade pay increase on their increase eligibility date, as long as the performance evaluation information in Workday is up to date. The percentage amount of the increase shall be in accordance with the applicable contract.
Non-contract, AFSCME and IUP-covered employees’ performance evaluation information must be set to “meets expectations” or may rate the employee at “exceeds job expectations.” The amount of the within-grade increase shall be determined by policies established by the appointing authority.
Employees Currently on Military Service Leave
Employees who are currently on military service leave will become eligible for an additional 30 workdays of paid military service days at the start of each calendar year, per Iowa Code Section 29A.28.
Employees will begin to be paid for 30 workdays starting with the first scheduled workday on or after January 1 of each year, unless their normal schedule would have required them to work on January 1. Agency Human Resources will place these employees on military service leave (paid) in order to pay them for paid military service days. This time will be added to the employee’s absence calendar in Workday. Insurance premiums will not be deducted from these paid days. The employee will be placed back into a military service leave (unpaid) after all paid military service days are paid. If paid military service days are available, the employee may not use leave without pay in lieu of the paid military service days.
If an employee is on military leave and in paid status on the regularly scheduled workday before a holiday and the regularly scheduled workday after a holiday (i.e., Martin Luther King Day), the holiday will not be counted as a military service day, and the employee will receive the holiday pay in addition to the paid military service day.