2006 Minnesota Statutes

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 basic 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 basic
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 basic 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 rate of active duty pay, calculated
by dividing the member's 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 activities. The differential payment under
this paragraph must be the difference between the daily 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 basic active duty military salary is less than the salary
the person would be paid 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.
History: 1991 c 345 art 1 s 95; 2003 c 123 s 2; 2004 c 256 art 1 s 6; 2005 c 156 art 4 s 9