Military Leave

Policy number: 7.20

Policy section: Human Resources

Revised Date: January 2, 2019

1. Policy Statement

In accordance with federal and state law, it is the University’s policy that no employee or prospective employee will be subjected to any form of discrimination on the basis of that person's membership in or obligation to perform service for any of the Uniformed Services of the United States.

2. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish the criteria and procedures for military leave for University employees. None of the provisions of this policy should be construed as limiting or abridging an individual's rights as set forth in the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”), as amended, and applicable law.

3. Applicability

For purposes of this policy, Uniformed Services include:

  1. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard;
  2. Army Reserve, Naval Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, or Coast Guard Reserve;
  3. Army National Guard or Air National Guard;
  4. Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service; and
  5. Any other category of persons designated by the President in time of war or emergency.

Military Service ("Service") means the performance of such military duty on a commission or non-commission status in a Uniformed Service, including:

  1. Active duty for training (sometimes called ADT or Summer Camp);
  2. Initial active duty for training;
  3. Inactive duty training;
  4. Full-time National Guard or Reserve duty;
  5. Absence from work for an examination to determine a person's fitness for any of the above forms of duty; and
  6. Funeral honors duty by National Guard or Reserve members.

4. Department Administrative Rules, Procedures, and Guidelines

The Department of Human Resources, under the purview of the Vice President for Business and Finance, has oversight and administrative responsibility for this policy and shall promulgate departmental rules, procedures, and guidelines pursuant to this policy.

Detailed eligibility and administrative rules, procedures and guidelines can be found on the Human Resources website.

5. Questions

Questions regarding this policy should be directed to the Department of Human Resources at benefitsu@smu.edu.

Revised: January 2, 2019

Adopted: September 1, 2004

The official University Policy Manual is housed in the Office of the University Secretary. The University Secretary is responsible for maintaining new and updated policies and for maintaining this website. Should the official University Policy Manual conflict with any internal policies, procedures, departmental administrative rules, or guidelines, that may be contained in manuals provided by schools, departments, or divisions within the University, the official University Policy Manual controls.