2007 Minnesota Statutes

43A.183 PAYMENT OF SALARY DIFFERENTIAL TO RESERVE FORCES WHO
REPORT FOR ACTIVE SERVICE.
    Subdivision 1. Payment required. Each agency head shall pay to each eligible member an
amount equal to the person's salary differential for each month or portion of month that the
person is ordered to serve in active service.
This payment may be made only to a person for whom the amount in subdivision 2,
paragraph (b), clause (1), is greater than the amount in subdivision 2, paragraph (b), 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
may apply for the salary differential benefits authorized under this section prior to, during, or
following the person's active service on or after May 29, 2003.
    Subd. 2. Definitions. (a) The definitions in this subdivision apply to this section.
(b) "Salary differential" means 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 service, and including any
additional salary or earnings adjustments that the person would have received at any time during
the person's authorized leave from state employment had the person been serving as an active
state employee during that time; and
(2) the person's monthly base pay in active service.
(c) "Eligible member" means:
(1) any member of the National Guard or other reserve component of the United States
armed forces who was an employee of the state of Minnesota at the time the member took military
leave under section 192.261 to report for active military service; and
(2) any member of any other nonmilitary reserve component of the uniformed services of
the United States who was an employee of Minnesota at the time the member took properly
authorized leave from state employment under substantially comparable federal or state authority
ordering the person to report for federal or state active service.
(d) "State employee" means 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.
(e) "Active service" has the meaning given in section 190.05, subdivision 5, for military
members, and includes substantially comparable service for reserve members of other nonmilitary
components of the uniformed services of the United States, but excludes service performed
exclusively for purposes of:
(1) basic training, advanced individual training, annual training, and periodic inactive duty
training;
(2) special training periodically made available to reserve members;
(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, as well as substantially comparable
service by members of other nonmilitary components of the uniformed services of the United
States.
    Subd. 3. Health and dental coverage. The agency head must continue the employee's
enrollment in health and dental coverage, and the employer contribution toward that coverage,
until the employee reports for active 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 authorized leave
from state employment 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.
    Subd. 4. Notice. 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 or any
other nonmilitary reserve component of the uniformed services of the United States 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 service, 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 authorized leave from state employment, 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 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 leave.
    Subd. 5. Procedures. The commissioners of employee relations and finance shall adopt
procedures required to implement this section. The procedures are exempt from chapter 14.
    Subd. 6. Exclusion. This section does not apply to a judge, legislator, or constitutional
officer of the executive branch.
History: 2003 c 123 s 1; 2005 c 35 s 1; 2006 c 273 s 1

NOTE: This section applies to state employees serving in active military service on or after
May 29, 2003. Laws 2005, chapter 35, section 1.