Updated June 2003
EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS AND BENEFITS OF FEDERAL CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES
WHO PERFORM ACTIVE MILITARY DUTY
Civilian Federal employees who are members of the Uniformed
Services and who are called to active duty (or volunteer for active
duty or full-time National Guard duty) are entitled to the following
rights and benefits:
1. PAY. Employees performing active military duty
will receive compensation from the Armed Forces in accordance with
the terms and conditions of their military enlistment or commission.
They will not receive any compensation from their civilian employing
agency unless they elect to use military leave or annual leave as
described in paragraphs 2 and 3, below. As usual, agencies should
continue the payment of availability pay for criminal investigators
and annual premium pay for administratively uncontrollable overtime
(AUO) work, or regularly scheduled standby duty, on days of military
leave or annual leave.
2. MILITARY LEAVE. Employees who perform active military
duty may request paid military leave, as specified in 5 U.S.C.
6323(a). Under the law, an eligible full-time employee accrues 15
days (120 hours) of military leave each fiscal year.See OPM's fact
sheet on military leave at http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/HTML/military.HTM
and Frequently Asked Question on Military Leave at http://www.opm.gov/oca/LEAVE/HTML/MILQA.asp.
3. ANNUAL LEAVE. Employees who perform active military
duty may request the use of accrued and accumulated annual leave to
their credit (under 5 U.S.C. 6303 and 6304), and such requests must
be granted by the agency. In addition, requests for advanced annual
leave may be granted at the agency's discretion. See http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/HTML/ANNUAL.HTM
for more information on annual leave.
Employees who use annual leave will receive compensation from
their civilian position for all hours charged to annual leave in
addition to their military pay for the same period. Employees who
enter into active military duty may choose to (1) have their annual
leave remain to their credit until they return to their civilian
position, or (2) receive a lump-sum payment for all accrued and
accumulated annual leave.See http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/HTML/LUMPSUM.asp
for more information on lump-sum payments for annual leave.
4. LEAVE WITHOUT PAY (LWOP). The Uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) generally
requires an agency to place an employee entering the military on
leave without pay (LWOP) unless the employee chooses to be placed on
military leave or annual leave, as appropriate, or the employee
requests to be separated. Full-time employees do not earn annual or
sick leave in a pay period in which they have accumulated 80 hours
of LWOP. In addition, part-time employees on LWOP also earn less
annual and sick leave, since they earn leave based on the number of
hours in a pay status.
5. HEALTH BENEFITS. Employees who are put in a nonpay
status or separated while on military duty for more than 30 days may
keep their Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage for up
to 18 months from the date the absence to serve on military duty
begins. For further information on FEHB coverage see http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/eligibility/reservists.asp
and Frequently Asked Questions About FEHB for Federal Civilian
Employees Called to Active Duty Service at http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/qa/reservists.asp.
NOTE: Many agencies, including the Department of Defense, are
paying the employee's health benefits premium share, in addition to
the employer's health benefits premium share for covered employees
ordered to active duty in support of a contingency operation.
Employees should check with their human resources office to see if
their agencies offer this benefit.
6. LIFE INSURANCE. Employees who are put in a nonpay
status while on military duty may keep their Federal Employees'
Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) coverage for up to 12 months. This
coverage is free.At the end of 12 months in nonpay status, the
coverage terminates. Employees get a free 31-day extension of
coverage and have the right to convert to a nongroup policy.For more
information on life insurance benefits see http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/calledup.asp
and http://www.insurance.va.gov/sgliSite/default.htm.
7. RETIREMENT. An employee who is placed in a LWOP status
while performing active military duty continues to be covered by the
retirement law--i.e., the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or
the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Death benefits will
be paid as if he or she were still in the civilian position. If the
employee becomes disabled for his or her civilian position during
the LWOP and has the minimum amount of civilian service necessary
for title to disability benefits (5 years for CSRS, 18 months for
FERS), the employee will become entitled to disability benefits
under the retirement law. Upon eventual retirement from civilian
service, the period of military service is creditable under either
CSRS or FERS, subject to the rules for crediting military
service.
If an employee separates to enter active military duty, he or she
generally will receive retirement credit for the period of
separation when the employee exercises restoration rights to his or
her civilian position. If the separated employee does not exercise
the restoration right, but later re-enters Federal civilian service,
the military service may be credited under the retirement system,
subject to the rules governing credit for military service.
8. THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN. For purposes of the
Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), no contributions can be made, either by
the agency or the employee, for any time in a LWOP status or for a
period of separation. Agencies should refer to the Thrift Savings
Plan Bulletin for Agency TSP Representatives, No. 01-22, dated May
3, 2001. For additional information, agency representatives may
contact the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board at (202)
942-1460. Employees should refer to the TSP Fact Sheet - Effect of
Nonpay Status on TSP Participation. Both issuances are available
from the TSP Internet web site at http://www.tsp.gov/forms/index-factsheets.html
.
If employees are subsequently reemployed in, or restored to, a
position covered by FERS or CSRS pursuant to 38 U.S.C. chapter 43,
they may make up missed contributions. FERS employees are entitled
to receive retroactive Agency Automatic (1 percent) Contributions
and, if they make up their own contributions, retroactive Agency
Matching Contributions.
Also, if FERS employees separate and their Agency Automatic (1
percent) Contributions and associated earnings are forfeited because
they did not meet the TSP vesting requirement, the employees are
entitled to have these funds restored to their accounts after they
are reemployed. In addition, if employees separate and their
accounts are disbursed as automatic cashouts, the employees may
return to the TSP an amount equal to the full amount of the payment
after they are reemployed. For additional information see the TSP
Fact Sheet - "Benefits that Apply to Members of the Military Who
Return to Federal Civilian Service" at http://www.tsp.gov/forms/index-factsheets.html.
9. RETURN TO CIVILIAN DUTY. An employee who enters
active military duty (voluntarily or involuntarily) from any
position, including a temporary position, has full job protection,
provided he or she applies for reemployment within the following
time limits:
(A) Employees who served less than 31 days must report back to
work at the beginning of the next scheduled workday following their
release from service and the expiration of 8 hours after a time for
safe transportation back to the employee's residence.
(B) Employees who served more than 30 days, but less than 181
days, must apply for reemployment within 14 days of release by the
military.
(C) Employees who served more than 180 days have 90 days to apply
for reemployment.
Employees who served less than 91 days must be restored to the
position for which qualified that they would have attained had their
employment not been interrupted. Employees who served more than 90
days have essentially the same rights, except that the agency has
the option of placing an employee in a position for which qualified
of like seniority, status, and pay.
Upon return or restoration, an employee generally is entitled to
be treated as though he or she had never left for purposes of rights
and benefits based upon length of service. This means that the
employee must be considered for career ladder promotions, and the
time spent in the military will be credited for seniority,
successive within-grade increases, probation, career tenure, annual
leave accrual rate, and severance pay. An employee who was on a
temporary appointment serves out the remaining time, if any, left on
the appointment. (The military activation period does not extend the
civilian appointment.)
An employee performing active military duty is protected from
reduction in force (RIF) and may not be discharged from employment
for a period of 1 year following separation (6 months in the case of
a Reservist called to active duty under 10 U.S.C. 12304 for more
than 30 days, but less than 181 days, or ordered to an initial
period of active duty for training of not less than 12 consecutive
weeks), except for poor performance or conduct or for suitability
reasons.
NOTE: Employees in the intelligence agencies have substantially
the same rights, but are covered under agency regulations, rather
than the Office of PersonnelManagement's regulations, and have
different appeal rights.
10. APPEAL RIGHTS. An employee or former employee of an
agency in the executive branch (including the U.S. Postal Service)
who is entitled to restoration in connection with military duty may
appeal an agency's failure to properly carry out the law directly to
the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), or the employee may first
submit a complaint to the Department of Labor, which will attempt to
resolve it. If resolution is not possible, the Department may
present the case to the Office of the Special Counsel, which may
represent the employee in an appeal to the MSBP. Appeals to the
Board must be submitted within 30 calendar days after the effective
date of the action being appealed.
11. EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS (EAPs). Employee
Assistance Programs can be very helpful to employees and their
families in coping with the stress and disruption associated with a
call to active military duty. EAPs provide short-term counseling and
referral services to help with financial, emotional, and dependent
care problems. These services are available to employees who have
been called to active military duty (or who volunteer for such duty)
and to employees who are family members of those who are performing
active military duty. In addition, many EAPs offer services to
family members of employees.
All military services provide extensive support to family
members, and Federal employees affected by deployment should take
time to learn about what is available to them. There is
research-based guidance on how best to handle the family issues that
occur during deployment, as well as a wide array of practical
information and support resources. The web links below provide a
gateway to information and service for families of deployed service
members.
Information for all services
Comprehensive information and links on family support:
http://deploymentlink.osd.mil/deploy/guard_reserves/rng_fsp.shtml
Information on health care coverage for Reservists and families
under the Tricare program: http://www.tricare.osd.mil/reserve/index.cfm
Guidance on putting the family's legal affairs in order prior to
deployment. Fact sheets on regions where Reservists and
National Guard members are likely to be deployed: http://deploymentlink.osd.mil/deploy/prep/deploy_checklist.shtml
Information about mobilization, healthcare options, family
support and much more can be found at the Office of the Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs Web site at: http://www.defenselink.mil/ra.
Service-specific information on family support. The
sites include practical information, resource links, and guidance
for families on coping with the stresses related to
deployment.
Army: http://www.aflo.org/data/modules/pbm/rendered/operation_ready.asp
Navy: http://www.lifelines2000.org/services/deployment/index.asp?AttribID=510
Air Force: http://www.afcrossroads.com/html/famseparation/index.cfm
12. DOCUMENTING PERSONNEL ACTIONS.
Leave without Pay. LWOP must be documented on an SF
50, Notification of Personnel Action, with nature of action
473/LWOP-US, and legal authorities Q3K/5 CFR 353 and
ZJW/E.O. 13223 dated 9/14/01.* (Note:
ZJW is a new legal authority that has been established to
enable OPM and agencies to identify reservists who are involved in
military operations under the authority of E.O. 13223, dated
September 14, 2001.)** These same authorities must also be
used on the 292/RTD action when the reservist returns to
civilian employment.
Health Benefits and Life Insurance.
For those reservists with health benefits coverage while absent
for reasons related to military duty, enter in block 45 of the SF 50
remark B66:
Health benefits coverage will continue for 18 months unless you
elect to terminate coverage. Contact your servicing Human
Resources Office or see the FEHB Handbook at http://www.opm.gov/insure/index.asp
for detailed information.
For those reservists with Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance
(FEGLI) coverage, enter in block 45 of the SF 50 remark B72.
FEGLI coverage continues until a reservist's time in nonpay
status totals 12 months. Reservists should contact their
servicing Human Resources Office or see the FEGLI Handbook at http://www.opm.gov/insure for
detailed information.
Separations. If the reservist requests separation
rather than LWOP, the separation must be documented with nature of
action 353/Separation-US and legal authorities Q3K/5 CFR
353 and ZJW/E.O. 13223 dated 9/14/01.** Follow the
instructions in Chapter 9 or 11 (as appropriate) of The Guide to
Processing Personnel Actions, http://www.opm.gov/feddata/persdoc.htm,
to document the reservist's restoration upon completion of his or
her military service.
*Effective with the issuance of this memorandum, legal authority
ZJW is revised from "Operation Enduring Freedom".
**(This includes Operation Noble Eagle and Operation Enduring
Freedom, and any other military operations subsequently established
under Executive Order 13223.)
13. CONTACTS. For further information on employment rights
and benefits of civilian Federal employees who perform active
military duty, agencies should contact the following offices:
- For information on military leave, agency human resources
offices may contact the Pay and Leave Administration Group in
OPM's Center for Pay and Performance Policy at (202) 606-2858 or
by email at pay-performance-policy@opm.gov.
- For information on health benefits, life insurance, and
retirement, contact the Insurance Officer or Retirement Counselor
of your agency. Retirement Counselors may contact OPM's Benefits
Officers Resource Center, (202) 606-0788. Insurance Officers may
contact Insurance Services at (202) 606-0191.
- For information on the Thrift Savings Plan, agency
headquarters human resources offices may contact the Federal
Retirement Thrift Investment Board at (202) 942-1460. Field
installations should contact their headquarters TSP Coordinator
for guidance.
- For information on return to civilian duty and appeal rights,
agency human resources offices should contact the Staffing Group
in OPM's Center for Talent and Capacity Policy at 606-0960.
- For information on documenting actions related to entering
active military duty, agency human resources offices should
contact the Personnel Systems Group in OPM's Center for HR Systems
Requirements and Strategies at (202) 606-4415.
- For information on labor-management relations issues, agencies
should contact OPM's Center for Workforce Relations and
Accountability Policy at (202) 606-2930.
Attachment
2 | CPM
2001-09 | Compensation Administration
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