Military Leave of Absence / Reemployment

Operational Standard/Purpose

ICC grants leaves of absence to eligible employees serving in the uniformed services, including but not limited to the United States Armed Forces or National Guard and Reserves, for periods of active service military training, mobilization or deployment. ICC complies with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) and any applicable state laws. Military leave is granted for both voluntary and mandatory service. ICC will comply with all federal and state military and/or uniformed service leave laws, including laws regarding reinstatement of employment.

No employee or prospective employee will be subjected to any form of discrimination on the basis of that person's membership, service, application for service, or obligation for service in any of the Uniformed Services of the United States. Specifically, no person will be denied employment, reemployment, retention in employment, promotion, or other benefit of employment on the basis of such membership, application for membership, performance/application of service, or obligation. Furthermore, no person will be subjected to retaliation or adverse employment action because such person has exercised his or her rights under applicable law or this policy. If any employee believes that he or she has been subjected to discrimination in violation of this policy, the employee should immediately contact the Human Resources Department.

Scope/Applicability

Refer to the Employee Handbook for additional information.

Procedures

1. Notification from Employee: Requests for a military leave of absence should be submitted in writing to the employee’s supervisor at least 30 days prior to the start of the leave or extension period. If advance written notice cannot be provided due to extenuating circumstances, verbal notice is provided via emergency contact and/or family member to Human Resources as soon as possible. As soon as possible, the employee should provide a copy of their military orders. No notice is required under this section if the giving of such notice is precluded by military necessity or, under all of the relevant circumstances, the giving of such notice is otherwise impossible or unreasonable pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.
    
   Note: The employee is not required to ask for or get the College's permission to leave to perform military service. The employee is only required to give the College notice of pending service.
2. Response from Human Resources: Human Resources will review and initiate the Leave of Absence Request Form, collect any applicable insurance premiums from the employee, generate other applicable documents, and process accordingly.
3. Benefits: If the employee will be on uniformed service leave of 31 days or more, the employee must notify their supervisor and the Human Resources department that: (1) the employee has been called to active duty, and (2) the employee’s election to continue health insurance coverage. Failure to satisfy both requirements because advanced notice was not possible, was unreasonable, or was prevented by military necessity; plan coverage will be reinstated retroactively upon the employee’s election to continue coverage and the receipt of all premium amounts due.
4. Re-Employment: To be eligible for protection under USERRA, the employee must:
   1. Report back to work or apply for reemployment within the following guidelines:
      • If the employee served fewer than 31 days or was away from the College for other qualified reasons, the employee must return to work by the beginning of the first full regularly scheduled work period on the first full calendar day following the completion of the period of service and the expiration of eight (8) hours after a period allowing for the safe transportation of the person from the place of that service to the person’s residence, or, if this reporting is unreasonable through no fault of the employee, then as soon as possible after the expiration of the eight (8) hour period.
      • If the employee served more than 30 days but less than 181 days, the employee must submit an application for reemployment to Human Resources to return to work within 14 days after completion of service to determine if their previous position is still available.
      • If the employee served more than 180 days, the employee must contact Human Resources in writing of his/her intention to return to work within 90 days after completion of service.
      Failure to follow these guidelines for reporting to duty in a timely manner following military service may result in loss of eligibility for re-hire.
   2. Upon notification of intent to return to work, the employee must provide military discharge documentation to Human Resources that establishes timeliness of application for reemployment and length and character of the employee’s military service.
   3. Whenever possible, the employee will be re-employed to their former position. In some circumstances, such as if the position no longer exists, Human Resources will provide assistance with re-employment opportunities in a position comparable in status and pay to the previous position.
   4. The College may not be able to reemploy a person if the College’s circumstances have changed making such reemployment impossible or unreasonable.
   5. The reporting or application deadlines will be extended up to two (2) years for employees who are hospitalized or recovering from a service-connected illness or injury. This period shall be extended by the minimum time required to accommodate circumstances beyond an employee's control which make reporting impossible or unreasonable.
   6. The College will make reasonable efforts to accommodate an employee's disability so that the employee can be reemployed consistent with the requirements under the USERRA unless such accommodation will cause undue hardship on the College.
   7. FMLA allows 12 weeks of qualifying exigency leave. FMLA also allows up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave during any single 12-month period for an employee to care for a covered family member who is a military service member recovering from injury or illness. (See Family and Medical Leave Act in the Employee Handbook).