Minnesota Session Laws - 2005, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 35-H.F.No. 2126 
                  An act relating to the military; clarifying the pay 
                  differential law for state employees who are ordered 
                  to active military service; amending Minnesota 
                  Statutes 2004, sections 43A.183; 192.261, subdivision 
                  1. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 43A.183, is 
        amended to read: 
           43A.183 [PAYMENT OF SALARY DIFFERENTIAL FOR RESERVE FORCES 
        WHO REPORTED FOR ACTIVE SERVICE.] 
           (a) Each agency head shall pay to each eligible member of 
        the National Guard or other reserve component of the United 
        States armed forces of the United States an amount equal to the 
        difference between the member's basic active duty military 
        salary and the salary the member would be paid as an active 
        state employee, including any adjustments the member would have 
        received if not on leave of absence person's salary differential 
        for each month or portion of month that the person is ordered to 
        serve in active military service.  The person's salary 
        differential is calculated as the difference between: 
           (1) the person's monthly total gross earnings as an active 
        state employee, excluding any overtime pay received but 
        including all other earnings, averaged over the last three full 
        months of the person's active state employment prior to 
        reporting to active military service, and including any 
        additional salary or earnings adjustments that the person would 
        have received at any time during the person's military leave had 
        the person been serving as an active state employee during that 
        time; and 
           (2) the person's monthly base pay in active military 
        service.  
           This payment may be made only to a person whose basic 
        active duty military salary is less than the salary the person 
        would be paid as an active state employee for whom the amount in 
        clause (1) is greater than the amount in clause (2).  Payments 
        must be made at the intervals at which the member received pay 
        as a state employee, except that any back pay due under this 
        section may be paid as a lump sum.  Payment under this section 
        must not extend beyond four years from the date the employee 
        reported for active service, plus any additional time the 
        employee may be legally required to serve.  An eligible member 
        of the National Guard or other reserve component of the United 
        States armed forces may apply for the pay differential benefits 
        authorized under this section prior to, during, or following the 
        person's active military service on or after May 29, 2003. 
           (b) An eligible member of the reserve components of the 
        United States armed forces of the United States is a reservist 
        or National Guard member who was an employee of the state of 
        Minnesota at the time the member reported took military leave 
        under section 192.261 to report for active military service. 
           (c) For the purposes of this section, an employee of the 
        state is an employee of the executive, judicial, or legislative 
        branch of state government or an employee of the Minnesota State 
        Retirement System, the Public Employee Retirement Association, 
        or the Teachers Retirement Association. 
           (d) For purposes of this section, the term "active service" 
        has the meaning given in section 190.05, subdivision 5, but 
        excludes service performed exclusively for purposes of: 
           (1) basic combat training, advanced individual training, 
        annual training, and periodic inactive duty training; 
           (2) special training periodically made available to reserve 
        members; and 
           (3) service performed in accordance with section 190.08, 
        subdivision 3; and 
           (4) service performed as part of the active guard/reserve 
        program pursuant to United States Code, title 32, section 
        502(f), or other applicable authority. 
           (e) The agency head must continue the employee's enrollment 
        in health and dental coverage, and the employer contribution 
        toward that coverage, until the employee is covered by health 
        and dental coverage provided by the armed forces reports for 
        active military service.  If the employee had elected dependent 
        coverage for health or dental coverage as of the time that the 
        employee reported for active service, the agency head must offer 
        the employee the option to continue the dependent coverage at 
        the employee's own expense.  The agency head must permit the 
        employee to continue participating in any pretax account in 
        which the employee participated when the employee reported for 
        active service, to the extent of employee pay available for that 
        purpose.  An employee who has opted to continue a permitted 
        benefit may cancel that continuation at any time during the 
        person's military leave by written notification from the 
        employee, or from the employee's designated attorney-in-fact 
        under a power of attorney, to the agency head or the 
        commissioner of employee relations. 
           (f) The agency head must periodically inform in writing all 
        agency personnel who are or may be members of the reserve 
        component of the United States armed forces of the benefits 
        provided under this section and of the procedures relevant to 
        securing those benefits, including but not limited to any 
        procedures regarding the continuation and discontinuation of any 
        optional deductions.  It will suffice to meet this requirement 
        if the agency head posts the information on the agency Web site 
        in a highly recognizable manner that can be easily found and 
        understood by the employees to whom it might apply.  
           Upon being ordered to active duty, the employee must notify 
        the agency head of that order in a timely manner and must 
        provide to the agency head the name of and contact information 
        for the employee's designated attorney-in-fact under a power of 
        attorney.  Prior to the commencement of the employee's military 
        leave, the agency head must ensure the agency's receipt of that 
        information and immediately convey that information to the 
        commissioners of finance and employee relations, including any 
        subsequent change in that designation by the employee.  When 
        communicating with the employee during the person's military 
        leave, the agency head and the commissioners of finance and 
        employee relations must immediately provide a copy of the 
        communication to the employee's designated attorney-in-fact. 
        Those officials must also honor requests for information or 
        other appropriate directives from that designee on behalf of the 
        employee during the employee's military leave. 
           (g) The commissioners of employee relations and finance 
        shall adopt procedures required to implement this section.  The 
        procedures are exempt from chapter 14. 
           (g) (h) This section does not apply to a judge, legislator, 
        or constitutional officer of the executive branch. 
           [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day 
        following final enactment and applies to state employees serving 
        in active military service on or after May 29, 2003. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 192.261, 
        subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [LEAVE OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY.] Subject to 
        the conditions hereinafter prescribed, any officer or employee 
        of the state or of any political subdivision, municipal 
        corporation, or other public agency of the state who engages in 
        active service in time of war or other emergency declared by 
        proper authority in any of the military or naval forces of the 
        state or of the United States for which leave is not otherwise 
        allowed by law shall be entitled to leave of absence from the 
        officer's or employee's public office or employment without pay 
        during such service, with right of reinstatement as hereinafter 
        provided.  Such leave of absence without pay, whether heretofore 
        or hereafter, shall not extend beyond four years plus such 
        additional time in each case as such an officer or employee may 
        be required to serve pursuant to law.  This shall not be 
        construed to preclude the allowance of leave with pay for such 
        service to any person entitled thereto under section 43A.183, 
        192.26, or 471.975.  Nothing in this section contained shall 
        affect any of the provisions or application of section 352.27 
        nor of section 192.26 to 192.264, or any laws amendatory 
        thereof, insofar as such sections pertain to the state employees 
        retirement association or its members. 
           [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day 
        following final enactment and applies to state employees serving 
        in active military service on or after May 29, 2003. 
           Presented to the governor May 2, 2005 
           Signed by the governor May 5, 2005, 3:15 p.m.