1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to the military; clarifying statutes
1.3 	pertaining to the accumulation of vacation and sick
1.4 	leave by public officers and employees while on
1.5 	military leave and upon reinstatement in public office
1.6 	or employment; authorizing payment for some or all of
1.7 	the accumulated leave; amending Minnesota Statutes
1.8 	2004, sections 192.261, subdivision 2; 471.975.
1.9 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.10 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 192.261,
1.11 	subdivision 2, is amended to read:
1.12 		Subd. 2.Reinstatement.  Except as otherwise hereinafter
1.13 	provided, upon the completion of such service such officer or
1.14 	employee shall be reinstated in the public position, which was
1.15 	held at the time of entry into such service, or a public
1.16 	position of like seniority, status, and pay if such is available
1.17 	at the same salary which the officer or employee would have
1.18 	received if the leave had not been taken, upon the following
1.19 	conditions:  (1) that the position has not been abolished or
1.20 	that the term thereof, if limited, has not expired; (2) that the
1.21 	officer or employee is not physically or mentally disabled from
1.22 	performing the duties of such position; (3) that the officer or
1.23 	employee makes written application for reinstatement to the
1.24 	appointing authority within 90 days after termination of such
1.25 	service, or 90 days after discharge from hospitalization or
1.26 	medical treatment which immediately follows the termination of,
1.27 	and results from, such service; provided such application shall
2.1 	be made within one year and 90 days after termination of such
2.2 	service notwithstanding such hospitalization or medical
2.3 	treatment; (4) that the officer or employee submits an honorable
2.4 	discharge or other form of release by proper authority
2.5 	indicating that the officer's or employee's military or naval
2.6 	service was satisfactory.  Upon such reinstatement the officer
2.7 	or employee shall have the same rights with respect to accrued
2.8 	and future seniority status, efficiency rating, vacation, sick
2.9 	leave, and other benefits as if that officer or employee had
2.10 	been actually employed during the time of such leave. The
2.11 	officer or employee reinstated under this section is entitled to
2.12 	vacation and sick leave with pay as provided in any applicable
2.13 	civil service rules, collective bargaining agreement, or
2.14 	compensation plan, and accumulates vacation and sick leave from
2.15 	the time the person enters active military service until the
2.16 	date of reinstatement without regard to any otherwise applicable
2.17 	limits on civil service rules limiting the number of days which
2.18 	may be accumulated.No officer or employee so reinstated shall
2.19 	be removed or discharged within one year thereafter except for
2.20 	cause, after notice and hearing; but this shall not operate to
2.21 	extend a term of service limited by law.
2.22 	
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day
2.23 	following final enactment and applies to any public officer or
2.24 	public employee serving in active military service on or after
2.25 	September 11, 2001.

2.26 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 471.975, is
2.27 	amended to read:
2.28 	471.975 MAY PAY DIFFERENTIAL OF RESERVE ON ACTIVE DUTY.
2.29 	(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a statutory or
2.30 	home rule charter city, county, town, or other political
2.31 	subdivision may pay to each eligible member of the National
2.32 	Guard or other reserve component of the armed forces of the
2.33 	United States an amount equal to the difference between the
2.34 	member's basic active duty military salary and the salary the
2.35 	member would be paid as an active political subdivision
2.36 	employee, including any adjustments the member would have
3.1 	received if not on leave of absence.  This payment may be made
3.2 	only to a person whose basic active duty military salary is less
3.3 	than the salary the person would be paid as an active political
3.4 	subdivision employee.  Back pay authorized by this section may
3.5 	be paid in a lump sum.  Payment under this section must not
3.6 	extend beyond four years from the date the employee reported for
3.7 	active service, plus any additional time the employee may be
3.8 	legally required to serve.
3.9 	(b) Subject to the limits under paragraph (g), each school
3.10 	district shall pay to each eligible member of the National Guard
3.11 	or other reserve component of the armed forces of the United
3.12 	States an amount equal to the difference between the member's
3.13 	basic active duty military salary and the salary the member
3.14 	would be paid as an active school district employee, including
3.15 	any adjustments the member would have received if not on leave
3.16 	of absence.  The pay differential must be based on a comparison
3.17 	between the member's daily rate of active duty pay, calculated
3.18 	by dividing the member's military monthly salary by the number
3.19 	of paid days in the month, and the member's daily rate of pay
3.20 	for the member's school district salary, calculated by dividing
3.21 	the member's total school district salary by the number of
3.22 	contract days.  The member's salary as a school district
3.23 	employee must include the member's basic salary and any
3.24 	additional salary the member earns from the school district for
3.25 	cocurricular activities.  The differential payment under this
3.26 	paragraph must be the difference between the daily rates of
3.27 	military pay times the number of school district contract days
3.28 	the member misses because of military active duty.  This payment
3.29 	may be made only to a person whose basic active duty military
3.30 	salary is less than the salary the person would be paid as an
3.31 	active school district employee.  Payments may be made at the
3.32 	intervals at which the member received pay as a school district
3.33 	employee.  Payment under this section must not extend beyond
3.34 	four years from the date the employee reported for active
3.35 	service, plus any additional time the employee may be legally
3.36 	required to serve.
4.1 	(c) An eligible member of the reserve components of the
4.2 	armed forces of the United States is a reservist or National
4.3 	Guard member who was an employee of a political subdivision at
4.4 	the time the member reported for active service on or after May
4.5 	29, 2003, or who is on active service on May 29, 2003.
4.6 	(d) ~~Notwithstanding other obligations under law and~~ Except
4.7 	as provided in paragraph (e) and elsewhere in Minnesota
4.8 	Statutes, a statutory or home rule charter city, county, town,
4.9 	or other political subdivision has total discretion regarding
4.10 	employee benefit continuation for a member who reports for
4.11 	active service and the terms and conditions of any benefit.
4.12 	(e) A school district must continue the employee's
4.13 	enrollment in health and dental coverage, and the employer
4.14 	contribution toward that coverage, until the employee is covered
4.15 	by health and dental coverage provided by the armed forces.  If
4.16 	the employee had elected dependent coverage for health or dental
4.17 	coverage as of the time that the employee reported for active
4.18 	service, a school district must offer the employee the option to
4.19 	continue the dependent coverage at the employee's own expense.
4.20 	A school district must permit the employee to continue
4.21 	participating in any pretax account in which the employee
4.22 	participated when the employee reported for active service, to
4.23 	the extent of employee pay available for that purpose.
4.24 	(f) For purposes of this section, "active service" has the
4.25 	meaning given in section 190.05, subdivision 5, but excludes
4.26 	service performed exclusively for purposes of:
4.27 	(1) basic combat training, advanced individual training,
4.28 	annual training, and periodic inactive duty training;
4.29 	(2) special training periodically made available to reserve
4.30 	members; and
4.31 	(3) service performed in accordance with section 190.08,
4.32 	subdivision 3.
4.33 	(g) A school district making payments under paragraph (b)
4.34 	shall place a sum equal to any difference between the amount of
4.35 	salary that would have been paid to the employee who is
4.36 	receiving the payments and the amount of salary being paid to
5.1 	substitutes for that employee into a special fund that must be
5.2 	used to pay or partially pay the deployed employee's payments
5.3 	under paragraph (b).  A school district is required to pay only
5.4 	this amount to the deployed school district employee.

5.5 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day
5.6 	following final enactment and applies to any public officer or
5.7 	public employee serving in active military service on or after
5.8 	September 11, 2001.