ST36 North Dakota (December 2007; updated August 2010 - no changes to law)
1.18: USERRA and Other Laws
2.0: Paid Leave

Paid Military Leave for Public Employees in North Dakota

By CAPT Samuel F. Wright, JAGC, USN (Ret.)

North Dakota law provides as follows concerning paid military leave for employees of the state and its political subdivisions:

"All officers and employees of this state or of a political subdivision thereof who:

"1. Are members of the national guard;

"2. Are members of the armed forces reserve of the United States of America;

"3. Shall be subject to call in the federal service by the president of the United States; or

"4. Shall volunteer for such service,

"when ordered by proper authority to active noncivilian employment, are entitled to a leave of absence from such civil service for the period of such active service without loss of status or efficiency rating. If such persons have been in the continuous employ of the state or political subdivision for ninety days immediately preceding the leave of absence, they shall receive twenty workdays each calendar year without loss of pay. In addition, any leave of absence necessitated by a full or partial mobilization of the reserve and national guard forces of the United States of America, or emergency state active duty, must be without loss of pay for the first thirty days thereof less any other paid leave of absence which may have been granted during the calendar year pursuant to this section. However, if leave is required for weekend, daily, or hourly periods of drill for military training on a day in which a public officer or employee is scheduled to perform the work of the state or of a political subdivision, the officer or employee must be given the option of time off with a concurrent loss of pay for the period missed or must be given an opportunity to reschedule the workperiod so that the reserve or national guard weekend, daily, or hourly drill or period of training occurs during time off from work without loss of status or efficiency rating." (North Dakota Century Code, section 37-01-25.)

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