Employees will be granted a leave of absence for military service in accordance with applicable federal and state laws. Employees are responsible for furnishing the Village with the expected beginning and ending dates of military service, including copies of military orders, as far in advance as possible.
A. Eligibility: Any employee affiliated with the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, Reserves, or contract military service is eligible.
B. Effect on Benefits: If applicable, an employee granted leave under this policy will continue to be covered under the Village's group health insurance plan on the same conditions as coverage would have been provided if he or she had been continuously working during the leave period. To maintain uninterrupted coverage, an employee will be required to continue to pay his or her portion of insurance premium payments, if applicable. Payments for which an employee is responsible are subject to any change in premium rates while the employee is on leave. During the leave, monthly payments should be forwarded to the Finance Department no later than the first of the month. If applicable, an employee will continue to accrue benefit hours (sick, personal, or vacation) while he or she is on military leave.
C. Effect on Wages: Any employee, who is a member of any reservist component of the United States Armed Services and is mobilized to active military duty, will receive his or her full District salary minus the amount of his or her base pay for military service, for the duration of his or her active military service. Any full-time employee who is a member of any reservist component of the United States Armed Services will be granted leave for any period actively spent in military activity, including: basic training, special or advanced training, and annual training. During leaves for annual training, the employee will continue to receive his or her full Village pay. During leaves for basic training and up to 60 days of special or advanced training, the employee will receive his or her full District salary minus the amount of his or her base pay for military activities. If an employee is called to active military duty by order of the President of the United States, the employee will receive his or her full District salary, minus the amount of his or her base pay for military service, for the duration of his or her active military service.
D. Reinstatement: An employee returning from military leave will be entitled to reinstatement in accordance with the applicable federal and state laws. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) requires that returning service personnel be "promptly" re-employed in the same or similar position that they would have attained if they had not been absent for military service. Under USERRA, to return to the workplace, an employee must have been honorably discharged and cumulative military leave is less than five years. An employee is required to give the district prompt notification of intent to return to work. The amount of required notice to the district varies based on the length of an employee's absence.
E. After Reinstatement: After reinstatement, an employee enjoys a certain level of job security. Employees can only be terminated "for cause" for a specified time, depending on their length of service.
Illinois Family Military Leave
An employee whose qualified family member is engaged in military service may be granted an unpaid leave of absence for family military leave subject to certain conditions. The Village will require certification from the proper military authority to verify the employee's eligibility for the family military leave requested.
A. Eligibility: Any employee who has been employed by the Village for at least 12 consecutive months and has worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the commencement of the leave is eligible. An employee may request up to 30 days of unpaid leave in a single 12month period to care for his or her spouse, parent, child, or grandchild, who is a member of the Armed Forces (including the Reserves and the National Guard) and who has a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty while on active duty and is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation or therapy. If an employee uses qualifying exigency leave under FMLA, the amount available under this leave will be reduced by the number of days taken under FMLA.
B. Effect on Benefits: An employee granted leave under this policy will continue to be covered under the Village's group health insurance plan on the same conditions as coverage would have been provided if he or she had been continuously employed during the leave period. To maintain uninterrupted coverage, an employee will be required to continue to pay his or her portion of insurance premium payments, if applicable. Payments for which an employee is responsible are subject to any change in premium rates while the employee is on leave. If the employee contributes to a group insurance plan in addition to the group health plan, the employee must continue to pay his or her portion of the insurance premium payments. During the leave, monthly payments should be forwarded to the Finance Department no later than the first of the month. If the employee's payment is more than 30 days late, the Village will terminate coverage; however, coverage will be reinstated upon the employee's return to work. An employee will not accrue any type of benefit hours (sick, personal or vacation) while he or she is on Family Military Leave.
C. Utilization of Accrued Benefits: An employee may not take Family Military Leave as provided under this policy unless he or she has exhausted all accrued vacation leave, personal leave, compensatory leave, and any other leave that may be granted to the employee, except sick leave and disability leave.
D. Reinstatement: Any employee who exercises the right to family military leave under this policy, upon expiration of the leave, shall be entitled to be restored to the position held when the leave commenced or to a position with equivalent seniority status, employee benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment as required by the FMLA. This Section does not apply if the employee was not restored as provided in this Section because of conditions unrelated to the employee's exercise of rights under this policy.
(Ord. 23-1853, passed 5-3-23)