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Military leave benefits extended, enhanced
By SHERRY HALBROOK
PEF members out on military leave related to the “war on terror” or the war in
Iraq in 2007 will benefit under a new agreement between the union and the state.
This memorandum of understanding (MOU) extends for another year the military
leave benefits that would have expired December 31, 2006, under a previous MOU.
The new agreement also adds new benefits for 2007.
This MOU extends the 2006 military leave benefits to cover activations to
military service continuing into 2007 or beginning in 2007.
The MOU adds another layer of benefits to those already provided under state law
and also under the PS&T contract.
Among the benefits from the MOU is supplemental military leave from your state
job at full pay. It becomes available after you exhaust all of your regular
military leave at full pay that’s provided under state law.
This supplemental leave is for up to 30 days (or 22 working days, whichever
provides the greater benefit) of full pay while on military leave (available
only once for activations related to the war on terror or Iraq).
After exhausting fully paid “military” leave, you may elect to charge your
accrued leave (other than sick leave) to keep your full pay flowing while you
are still on active military duty.
Throughout your fully paid leave status, your state health insurance benefits
will continue and you will continue to pay your share of those premiums.
After exhausting any leave accruals that you elect to charge, you will then be
eligible under the MOU to receive your state pay reduced by your military pay.
This reduced-pay military leave will continue through the end of your activation
or December 31, 2007, whichever comes first.
As a member of the military reserves or National Guard, you will be covered by
military health insurance during a federally sponsored activation.
The PS&T contract requires the state to continue paying for the health, dental
and vision coverage for your covered dependents for up to 12 months (less any
periods of full-pay status) when you are called to active military duty by the
president or an act of Congress.
But, if your activation is war related, that benefit may continue under the MOU
through the end of your activation or December 31, 2007, whichever comes first.
By law, if you have been on active military duty for more than 180 consecutive
days, you are entitled to 90 days of post-discharge leave.
This is where the new benefit under the 2007 MOU kicks in. If you take the
post-discharge leave, you may charge any of your accruals other than sick leave.
If you do not charge accruals and you are on unpaid leave from your state job
during this post-discharge period, the state will provide free health insurance
for you and your dependents during that time.
Once you finally return to your state job, you may still be called back from
time to time for brief military training exercises.
If that happens, the MOU provides for up to 30 (22 working) days of training
leave at reduced pay for that military service.
More information about these benefits and the MOU will be posted on the PEF Web
site at www.pef.org under Memos in the Current News section. If you need
additional help, you may call PEF Contract Administration at 1-800-342-4306,
ext. 223.
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The Communicator Feb. 2007
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