Military Leave

In accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), an employee may take military leave without pay provided such duty does not go beyond the sponsored project or Personnel Action Form termination date. An employee on military leave may, but is not required to, substitute their accrued paid leave time for unpaid leave.

To be eligible for reemployment under USERRA, an individual must:

• Hold or have applied for a civilian job. (Jobs that an employer can show to be held for a brief, nonrecurring period with no reasonable expectation of continuing for a significant period do not qualify for protection.)
• Have provided written or verbal notice to the civilian employer prior to leaving the job for military training or service except when precluded by military necessity.
• Not have exceeded the 5-year cumulative limit on periods of service.
• Have been released from service under conditions other than dishonorable.
• Report back to the civilian job in a timely manner or submit a timely application for reemployment.

An employee must apply for military leave. A copy of military orders must be presented to the project director and sent to RFCUNY’s Department of Human Resources before the scheduled date of duty.

USERRA provides that following periods of military service of 31 days or more, the returning employee must, upon the employer's request, provide documentation that establishes length and character of the service and the timeliness of the application for reemployment.  Reemployment may not be delayed, however, if such documentation does not exist or is not readily available. The following documents have been determined by the Secretary of Labor to satisfy proof of eligibility for reemployment:

• Discharge papers,
• Leave and earnings statements
• School completion certificate
• Endorsed orders
• A letter from a proper military authority

While USERRA does not address documentation of shorter periods of military service, if doubt exists, an employer could contact the employee's military command with questions about a specific period of service.

Employment & Rehiring Forms