On September 17, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 984 into law which would entitle state employees to receive that compensation for short-term military leave of absence for National Guard active duty and inactive duty training drill periods.ย The California Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (CAL-EANGUS) worked with Sen. Bob Archuleta’s (SD-32) office to author and support the bill.
Existing law specifies that employee members of reserve military units and the National Guard required to attend scheduled reserve drill periods or perform other inactive duty reserve obligations shall be granted military leave of absence without pay as provided by federal law, as specified. Existing law also, notwithstanding that or any other provision, authorizes employee members to elect to use vacation time or accumulated compensatory time off to attend scheduled reserve drill periods or perform other inactive duty reserve obligations.
This bill will recast those provisions to instead require that employee members of reserve military units and the National Guard required to perform inactive duty obligations, other than inactive and active duty training drill periods, as specified, be granted military leave of absence without pay as provided by federal law. The bill also authorizes employee members that attend or perform inactive duty obligations, other than inactive and active duty training drill periods, as specified, to elect to use vacation time or accumulated compensatory time off to attend those other obligations.
Existing law specifies that an employee who is granted a short-term military leave of absence for active military duty, but not for inactive duty, including scheduled reserve drill periods, and who for a period of not less than one year immediately before the effective date of active duty has had continuous state service that is not broken by a permanent separation, or who has had continuous state service immediately before the effective date of active duty not broken by a permanent separation and sufficient recognized military service to equal one year, shall be entitled to receive their salary or compensation for the first 30 calendar days of active duty served during the absence.
This bill also entitles an employee to receive that compensation for short-term military leave of absence for National Guard active duty and inactive duty training drill periods.
This issue came to the attention of CAL-EANGUS through the membership that a state employee was not allowed to use their military leave to attend a “super drill” and had to use annual leave or go in a Leave Without Pay status which would impact their seniority and benefits.ย Special thanks to the CAL-EANGUS Legislative Team and Sen. Archuleta’s office in understanding the issue impacting our Guardsmen and fighting for a solution.
