Employee Manual 2025 - Flipbook - Page 42
“Uniformed Services” includes any active or reserve unit of the Army, Navy, Marine Corp, Air Force
and Coast Guard, the Army and Air National Guards, the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health
Service, and any other category of persons designated by the President in time of war or
emergency. However, USERRA does not cover state military call ups of the National Guard
members for disaster relief, riots, etc.
“Service” in the uniformed services means the performance of duty on a voluntary or involuntary
basis including active duty, active duty for training, initial active duty for training, inactive duty
training, full-time National Guard duty, absence from work for an examination to determine a
person’s fitness for any of the above and the performance of funeral honors duty.
Generally, cumulative leave periods for up to five years of service are protected under USERRA.
However, under some circumstances, protected service is exempt from the five year limitation.
Also, while leave is generally unpaid (unless prohibited by law), upon request, employees may
use vacation time or other paid leave that was available to them prior to the commencement of
a period of service. However, employees will not be required to use such paid time for military
service.
The following explains in summary fashion some of the additional rights provided by USERRA.
Benefits During Leave and Upon Reinstatement: While on leave, an employee may elect continued
health insurance coverage for themselves and their dependents. For leave periods of up to 30 days,
employees shall be required to pay only their normal share, if any, of the cost of coverage. For
longer periods of leave, employees who elect coverage shall pay 102% of the entire premium.
Coverage ends on the day after the deadline for seeking reemployment or 18 months after the
leave of absence began, whichever comes first.
To the extent employees would be eligible to receive other non-seniority benefits (e.g. holiday pay
or term life insurance) while on other types of furloughs or leaves of absence, the City shall provide
those same benefits (under the same terms applicable to other types of leave) during periods of
service in the uniformed services.
Employees who are reinstated by the City following their leave shall receive their accrued seniority
as if continuously employed. This applies to other rights and benefits that are determined by
seniority such as status, rate of pay, pension vesting and credits for the period of pension benefit
computations. Reinstated employees may also receive training (or retraining) and other
accommodations in the event of a long period of absence.
With respect to pension benefit plans, employees reemployed under USERRA will be treated as not
having incurred a break in service. Periods of military service will be deemed as service with the
City for the purpose of determining the non-forfeitability of the accrued benefits and the accrual of
benefits under the plan. For any retirement plan that is contingent upon employee contributions or
elective deferrals, such as 401(k) plans, employees reemployed after military service will be
permitted to contribute to the plan an amount not to exceed the amount that would have been
City of Plymouth Employee manual - Page 42 – May 2025
