HOUSE BILL No. 4152

 

January 30, 2007, Introduced by Reps. Rick Jones, Pearce, Dean, Green, Gonzales, Sheltrown, LaJoy, Meekhof, Stahl, Mayes, Agema, Spade and Polidori and referred to the Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security.

 

     A bill to amend 1955 PA 133, entitled

 

"An act to provide for the granting of military leaves and

providing re-employment protection for officers and enlisted men of

the military or naval forces of the state or of the United States,"

 

by amending section 3 (MCL 32.273), as amended by 2002 PA 121.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 3. (1) An employee who requests a leave from his or her

 

employment shall not be denied a leave of absence by his or her

 

employer for the purpose of being inducted into or entering into

 

active service, active state service, or the service of the United

 

States, for the purpose of determining his or her physical fitness

 

to enter the service, or for performing training duty as an officer

 

or enlisted member of the military or naval forces of this state or

 

of the United States in active state service or under title 10 or

 


title 32 of the United States code. Following release from service,

 

training duty, or rejection, the employee shall, if he or she makes

 

application to his or her employer for reemployment within 15 If

 

the employee gives written notice to the employer within 45 days

 

following release from service, release from duty, or rejection, be

 

reemployed in a position of employment the employer shall reemploy

 

the employee in the following order of priority:

 

     (a) Following service of 1 to 90 days, in the position of

 

employment in which the person would have been employed if the

 

continuous employment of the person with the employer had not been

 

interrupted by service, the duties of which the person is qualified

 

to perform.

 

     (b) Following service of 1 to 90 days, in the position of

 

employment in which the person was employed on the date of the

 

commencement of service, only if the person is not qualified to

 

perform the duties of the position referred to in subdivision (a)

 

and after reasonable efforts by the employer to qualify the person

 

have been made.

 

     (c) Following service of 91 or more days, a position described

 

under subdivision (a) or (b) or in any other position of lesser

 

status or pay that the person is qualified to perform, only if the

 

person is not qualified and cannot become qualified with reasonable

 

efforts by the employer to be employed as described in subdivision

 

(b).

 

     (2) A person who is reemployed under this section is entitled

 

to the seniority and other rights and benefits that are determined

 

by seniority that the person had on the date of the commencement of

 


service plus the additional seniority and rights and benefits that

 

the person would have attained if the person had been continually

 

employed.

 

     (3) In addition to the seniority, rights, and benefits under

 

subsection (2), a person who is reemployed under this section is

 

entitled to rights and benefits, not determined by seniority, that

 

are generally provided by the employer to employees who have

 

similar seniority, status, and pay who are on furlough or leave of

 

absence under a contract, agreement, policy, practice, or plan in

 

effect at the commencement of service or established while the

 

person performs service.

 

     (4) The employee is not entitled to reemployment under this

 

section if the employee who is absent by reason of active service,

 

active state service, or the service of the United States has a

 

cumulative an uninterrupted period of service in the uniformed

 

services, with respect to the employer relationship for which a

 

person seeks reemployment, that exceeds 5 years, except that any

 

for purposes of this subsection, a period of service shall not

 

include any of the following:

 

     (a) Any service that is required, beyond 5 years, to complete

 

an initial period of obligated service.

 

     (b) Any service during which the person was unable to obtain

 

orders releasing him or her from a period of service in the

 

uniformed services before the expiration of the 5-year period and

 

the inability was through no fault of the person.

 

     (c) Any service performed as required pursuant to 10 U.S.C.

 

USC 10147, under 32 U.S.C. USC 502(a) or 503, or to fulfill

 


additional training requirements determined and certified in

 

writing by the appropriate service secretary to be necessary for

 

professional development or for completion of skill training or

 

retraining.

 

     (d) Any service performed by a member in active service,

 

active state service, or the service of the United States if any of

 

the following occur:

 

     (i) The member is ordered to or retained on active duty, active

 

service, or active state service under 10 U.S.C. USC 688, 12301(a),

 

12301(g), 12302, 12304, or 12305, or under 14 U.S.C. USC 331, 332,

 

359, 360, 367, or 712.

 

     (ii) The member is ordered to or retained on active duty,

 

active service, or active state service, other than for training,

 

under any provision of law because of a war or national emergency

 

declared by the president, the congress, or the governor.

 

     (iii) The member is ordered to active duty, other than for

 

training, in support, as determined by the appropriate service

 

secretary, of an operational mission for which personnel have been

 

ordered to active duty under 10 U.S.C. USC 12304.

 

     (iv) The member is ordered to active duty in support, as

 

determined by the appropriate service secretary, of a critical

 

mission or requirement of the uniformed services.

 

     (v) The member is called into federal service as a member of

 

the national guard under 10 U.S.C. USC 331 to 335 or under 10

 

U.S.C. USC 12406.

 

     (5) An employee is not entitled to the benefits under this

 

section if the service of the employee in any of the uniformed

 


services is terminated under any of the following circumstances:

 

     (a) A separation of the person from the uniformed service or

 

national guard with a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge.

 

     (b) A separation of the person from the uniformed service or

 

national guard under other than honorable conditions, as

 

characterized pursuant to regulations prescribed by the appropriate

 

service secretary.

 

     (c) A dismissal of the person under 10 U.S.C. USC 1161(a).

 

     (d) A dropping from the rolls pursuant to 10 U.S.C. USC

 

1161(b).

 

     (6) An employee who meets the requirements of this section and

 

is denied reemployment after giving the employer written notice may

 

bring an action against the employer in the circuit court for the

 

employee's county of residence and shall be awarded reinstatement

 

and reasonable attorney fees.

 

     (7) (6) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Active service" means service, including active state

 

service or special duty required by law, regulation, or pursuant to

 

order of the governor. Active service includes continuing service

 

of an active member of the national guard and the defense force in

 

fulfilling that active member's commission, appointment, or

 

enlistment.

 

     (b) "Active state service", as applied to the national guard

 

and the defense force, means military service in support of civil

 

authorities, at the request of local authorities, including, but

 

not limited to, support in the enforcement of laws prohibiting the

 

importation, sale, delivery, possession, or use of a controlled

 


substance, if ordered by the governor or as otherwise provided in

 

this act. As used in this subdivision, "controlled substance" means

 

that term as defined in section 7104 of the public health code,

 

1978 PA 368, MCL 333.7104.

 

     (c) "Service" means active service, active state service, or

 

in the service of the United States.

 

     (d) "Service secretary" means the secretary of the army,

 

secretary of the navy, or secretary of the air force concerned as

 

defined in 10 U.S.C. 101(9) USC 101(a)(9).

 

     (e) "Uniformed service" means the armed forces, the reserve

 

component, the national guard in active service or active state

 

service, the commissioned corps of the public health service, and

 

any other category of persons designated by the president or

 

governor in time of war or national emergency.