Recently introduced legislation would give an additional five days of paid leave to some federal employees.
The Supporting Employees in the Guard and Reserve Act (S. 4780) was introduced by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV). It has one co-sponsor as of the time of this writing, Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID).
Similar companion legislation has been introduced in the House by Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA).
The bill would increase the number of paid military leave days available to federal employees who are also reserve servicemembers from the currently allowed 15 days to 20 days, with additional days rolling over to the following year.
According to the Office of Personnel Management:
5 U.S.C. 6323 (a) provides 15 days per fiscal year for active duty, active duty training, and inactive duty training. An employee can carry over a maximum of 15 days into the next fiscal year.
Inactive Duty Training is authorized training performed by members of a Reserve component not on active duty and performed in connection with the prescribed activities of the Reserve component. It consists of regularly scheduled unit training periods, additional training periods, and equivalent training. For further information, see Department of Defense Instruction Number 1215.6, March 14, 1997
The lawmakers say that increasing the number of military leave days will help to recruit and retain reserve servicemembers and provide them greater economic stability. Reservists must attend military training each year, monthly drills 12 weekends per year and 14 days of annual training. Current federal leave policies can fall short of the time required, so the legislation would ensure that federal employees in the military reserves can attend the required training without losing pay.
“Reserve servicemembers in Nevada make countless sacrifices to serve our nation, and they deserve easy access to support, resources, and training,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “This legislation will update military leave policies to help ensure employees aren’t punished for their service to our country, and I’ll keep working across the aisle to strengthen our national security.”
“As global threats against the United States increase, it is critical we maintain a strong and resilient military,” said Senator Crapo. “Further supporting National Guard and Reserves recruitment within the civilian workforce will better equip our nation’s military to protect our country at home and abroad.”
