MILITARY LEAVE AND REEMPLOYMENT PROTECTION
House Bill 5502
Sponsor: Rep. Barb Vander Veen
Committee: Veterans Affairs
Complete to 12-20-01
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5502 AS INTRODUCED 12-12-01
House Bill 5502 would amend Public Act 133 of 1955, which provides for reemployment protection for persons called up for military service. Under current law, no employee who requests from his or her employer a leave of absence for the purposes of being inducted into service, entering service, determining physical fitness to enter, or performing training duty, may be denied leave. The bill would modify this provision to specify that an employee requesting leave for the purposes of being inducted into or entering active service, active state service, or service of the U.S., for the purposes of determining his of her physical fitness to enter the service, or for performing training duty as a member of the military, could not be denied leave.
In addition, current law states that following an employee's release or rejection from military service, he or she must be reinstated without a reduction in seniority, status, or pay, if the employee applies to his or her employer within 15 days after release or rejection. The bill would rewrite this provision. Under the bill, if the person were qualified, he or she would be reemployed in the position that he or she would have had, had his or her employment not been interrupted by the military service. If the person were not qualified for the position that he or she would have had, and the employer makes a reasonable effort to qualify the person for that position, the employee would be reemployed in the position that he or she held when the service began. If the employee were not qualified for the position that she held just prior to service, and cannot become qualified through the reasonable efforts of his or her employer, the employee would then be reemployed in a position of lesser status or pay.
Furthermore, the bill specifies that a person who is reemployed would be entitled to the seniority, and other rights and benefits determined by seniority, that he or she had when he or she left for military service, in addition to any seniority, rights, and benefits that he or she would have received had his or her employment not been interrupted by the military service. The person would also be entitled to other rights and benefits, not determined by seniority, that are entitled to similar employees who are on furlough or leave of absence under a contract, agreement, policy, practice, or plan in effect when the service began or established while the person was in service.
MCL 32.273
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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.