DATE ISSUED:
11/26/90

DATE REVISED:
06/2006

POLICY

Saint Louis University honors and respects the rights and obligation of its employees to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States. The University will allow excused absence for its employees to serve in that capacity, in accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), P.L. 103-353, and state laws where applicable. Leaves of absence and re-employment rights are provided by Saint Louis University based on these laws. Saint Louis University will not deny initial employment, reemployment, retention in employment, promotion, or any benefit of employment to an individual on the basis of his or her membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or
obligation for service in the uniformed services.

SCOPE

This policy applies to all regular employees of Saint Louis University.

DEFINITIONS

Military Service: Service in the uniformed services'' covers all categories of military training and service, including duty performed on a voluntary or involuntary basis, in time of peace or war. It includes, but is not limited to: Active Duty, Active Duty for Training, Initial Act of Duty for Training, Inactive Duty Training, full time National Guard duty, and absence from work to determine fitness for any of the above types of duty.

Armed Forces: Uniformed services means the Armed Forces; the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard when engaged in active duty for training, inactive duty training, or full-time National Guard duty; the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service; and any other category of persons designated by the President in time of war or national emergency. For purposes of USERRA coverage only, service as an intermittent disaster response appointee of the NDMS (National Disaster Medical System) when federally activated or attending authorized training in support of their Federal mission is deemed ``service in the uniformed services,'' although such appointee is not a member of the ``uniformed services'' as defined by USERRA.

PROCEDURE

An employee or appropriate officer of the branch in the military in which the employee will be serving must give the employee's supervisor or Department of Human Resources written notice in advance of military service unless military necessity prevents the giving of notice or notice is otherwise impossible or unreasonable.

Re-employment is based on the period of military service and other conditions as listed:

Note: The employee is not required to ask for or get his or her employer's permission to leave to perform service in the uniformed services. The employee is only required to give the employer notice of pending service. The person (or an appropriate officer of the uniformed service in which such service is performed) has given advance written or verbal notice of such service to such person's employer.

1. Military Service of less than 31 days – the employee must report back to work by the beginning of the first regularly scheduled work day that would fall 8 hours after the employee returns home from the place of military service. If, due to no fault of the employee, timely reporting back to work would be impossible or unreasonable, the employee must report back to work as soon as possible.

2. Military service of more than 30 days but less than 181 days- the employee must reapply for employment at one of the University’s employment offices not later than 14 days after military service is completed, or the next full calendar day when application becomes possible. The employee must also provide adequate documentation showing eligibility to return to work.

3. Military service of more than 180 days- the employee must re-apply for employment at one of the University’s employment offices not later than 90 days after Military Service is completed. The employee must also provide adequate documentation showing eligibility to return to work.

4. The employee’s separation from military service was under honorable conditions. A DD214 or similar document is required.

5. The employee may perform service in the uniformed services for a cumulative period of up to five (5) years and retain reemployment rights with the employer. The five-year period includes only the time the employee spends actually performing service in the uniformed services. A period of absence from employment before or after performing service in the uniformed services does not count against the five-year limit. For example, after the employee completes a period of service in the uniformed services, he or she is provided a certain amount of time, depending upon the length of service, to report back to work or submit an application for reemployment. The period between completing the uniformed service and reporting back to work or seeking reemployment does not count against the five-year limit.

6. The University is not required to reemploy a person if its circumstances have changed so as to make such reemployment impossible or unreasonable such as, for example, a reduction-in-force.

7. The reporting or application deadlines will be extended up to two years for employees who are hospitalized or convalescing because of a service-connected illness or injury. This period can be extended to accomdate circumstances beyond an employee's control.

8. The University and affected department will apply its policies governing unexcused absences in cases where an employee fails to report to work or to apply for reemployment rights within the required time limits.

The University 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 be of such difficulty or expense as to cause undue hardship.

Paid Military Leave for duties as outlined above will only be paid by the University for up to ten (10) work days in a twelve (12) month period, and only for days which the employee would have otherwise been scheduled to work. Employees are not required to use accrued vacation during absences due to Military Service requirements, but may do so upon request. Employees who follow the above procedure will accumulate seniority for the period of service in the Armed Forces and retain previously accumulated benefits, subject to rules and regulations that might be imposed in those plans