The city prohibits discrimination against employees on the basis of military duty, affiliation, or status and requires reinstatement of an employee following military leave to the same position or a position of like seniority, status and pay, as dictated by federal and state laws. Generally, an employee will be reinstated if he or she is still qualified to perform the job duties and circumstances do not make it impossible, unreasonable, or against public policy to place the employee back into the same or similar position.
(A) Annual Training.
(1) A military leave of absence will be granted to all city employees, except those occupying temporary positions, to attend scheduled drills or training or if called to active duty with the U.S. armed services.
(2) Employees who are members of a Reserve Unit or National Guard Unit will be granted leave for the annual training period, and are entitled to civilian (city) and military pay up to 15 days a year when on training duties pursuant to proper orders issued by appropriate military authority.
(3) Required military leave will not be charged against an employee’s vacation time.
(4) Subject to the terms, conditions and limitations of the applicable plans for which the employee is otherwise eligible, the employer will continue to provide health insurance benefits for the full term of the annual training period.
(5) Employees on two-week active duty training assignments or inactive duty training drills are required to return to work for the first regularly scheduled shift after the end of training, allowing reasonable travel time.
(B) Active Duty/Enlistment.
(1) The Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994 grants special considerations and rights to employees that are either called to active military status or enlist in the armed forces. Active duty military leave will be unpaid.
(2) USERRA requires employers to grant such employees reinstatement of the position held at the time of departure for military service, or in some cases to a position of equivalent or equal stature and pay provided the employee is discharged from service honorably. The cumulative length of service that causes an absence from a position may not exceed five years, except where provided by law.
(3) USERRA also requires that returning eligible employees be granted seniority and benefits at the same level as if the employee had not left employment for service. Benefit time will continue to accrue while an employee is on military leave. Additionally, service members are able (but are not required) to use earned vacation or annual leave while performing military duty.
(4) If an employee’s health plan coverage would terminate because of an absence due to uniformed service, the person may elect at his or her own cost to continue the health plan coverage for up to 18 months after the absence begins, or the period of service, whichever is shorter.
(5) Upon returning from military leave of absence an employee will be reinstated to a city position provided the employee is discharged from military status under honorable conditions, and makes a request for reinstatement within 30 days after release from active duty, or one year after release from hospitalization due to military accident. The employee must also be qualified to perform the essential functions of the position for which he or she is being reinstated, and shall be required to undergo a medical examination by medical providers) paid for by the city.
(6) Employees on such leave must notify the city of the intent to return to employment in accordance with all applicable state and federal laws.
(C) Indiana Military Family Leave.
(1) Eligible employees that are a parent, spouse, grandparent, or sibling of a person who is ordered to active duty for a period exceeding 89 days may be allowed military family leave under qualifying circumstances.
(2) In order for an employee to be eligible for military family leave, the employee must have worked for the city for the previous 12 months and worked a minimum of 1,500 hours during that period.
(3) Eligible employees may take leave during either the 30 days before active duty orders are in effect or during the period in which the person ordered to active duty has their orders terminated. Military family leave may not exceed a total of ten working days annually.
(4) Employees must notify their department head 30 days in advance of the days they intend to take military family leave, unless the person ordered to active duty receives deployment orders less than 30 days in advance. The city may require verification of the military orders in order to approve military family leave.
(5) Military family leave is unpaid and employees are responsible for paying their own benefits while on such leave.
(6) An employee may choose to substitute any earned paid vacation leave, or compensatory time available to the employee for any part of the ten-day period of military family leave.
(7) Military family leave runs concurrent with other leave entitlements provided under federal, state and local law, such as military family leave under FMLA.
(Ord. 2018-16, passed 1-7-19)