Minnesota Session Laws - 2009, Regular Session

CHAPTER 84--S.F.No. 1794

An act

relating to veterans; clarifying the circumstances under which pay differential applies for deployed National Guard and reserve members who are teachers;

amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 471.975.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 471.975, is amended to read:

471.975 MAY PAY DIFFERENTIAL OF RESERVE ON ACTIVE DUTY.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a statutory or home rule charter city, county, town, or other political subdivision may pay to each eligible member of the National Guard or other reserve component of the armed forces of the United States an amount equal to the difference between the member's deleted text begin basic deleted text end new text begin base new text end active duty military salary and the salary the member would be paid as an active political subdivision employee, including any adjustments the member would have received if not on leave of absence. This payment may be made only to a person whose deleted text begin basic deleted text end new text begin base new text end active duty military salary is less than the salary the person would be paid as an active political subdivision employee. Back pay authorized by this section may be paid in 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.

(b) Subject to the limits under paragraph (g), each school district shall pay to each eligible member of the National Guard or other reserve component of the armed forces of the United States an amount equal to the difference between the member's deleted text begin basic deleted text end new text begin base new text end active duty military salary and the salary the member would be paid as an active school district employee, including any adjustments the member would have received if not on leave of absence. The pay differential must be based on a comparison between the member's daily new text begin base new text end rate of active duty pay, calculated by dividing the member's new text begin base new text end military monthly salary by the number of paid days in the month, and the member's daily rate of pay for the member's school district salary, calculated by dividing the member's total school district salary by the number of contract days. The member's salary as a school district employee must include the member's basic salary and any additional salary the member earns from the school district for cocurricular new text begin and extracurricular new text end activities. The differential payment under this paragraph must be the difference between the daily new text begin base new text end rates of military pay times the number of school district contract days the member misses because of military active duty. This payment may be made only to a person whose deleted text begin basic active duty military salary deleted text end new text begin daily base rate of active duty pay new text end is less than the deleted text begin salary the person would be paid deleted text end new text begin person's daily rate of pay new text end as an active school district employee. Payments may be made at the intervals at which the member received pay as a school district employee. 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.

(c) An eligible member of the reserve components of the armed forces of the United States is a reservist or National Guard member who was an employee of a political subdivision at the time the member reported for active service on or after May 29, 2003, or who is on active service on May 29, 2003.

(d) Except as provided in paragraph (e) and elsewhere in Minnesota Statutes, a statutory or home rule charter city, county, town, or other political subdivision has total discretion regarding employee benefit continuation for a member who reports for active service and the terms and conditions of any benefit.

(e) A school district 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. If the employee had elected dependent coverage for health or dental coverage as of the time that the employee reported for active service, a school district must offer the employee the option to continue the dependent coverage at the employee's own expense. A school district 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.

(f) For purposes of this section, "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.

(g) A school district making payments under paragraph (b) shall place a sum equal to any difference between the amount of salary that would have been paid to the employee who is receiving the payments and the amount of salary being paid to substitutes for that employee into a special fund that must be used to pay or partially pay the deployed employee's payments under paragraph (b). A school district is required to pay only this amount to the deployed school district employee.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment and applies to members of the National Guard and other reserve components of the United States armed forces serving in active military service on or after that date. new text end

Presented to the governor May 13, 2009

Signed by the governor May 16, 2009, 12:52 p.m.