Eligible District government employees are entitled to take military leave to serve our country when called upon. Military leave protects an eligible District employee's pay, leave, and credit for time on the job. This issuance provides guidance on how military leave is earned and used, including protections for pay, leave, time served, and benefits for District employees called to service.

Any full-time or part-time District employee with a scheduled tour of duty in a permanent appointment or term appointment is eligible to receive military leave for periods of qualifying service as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces, a member of the National Guard, or a member of the Space Force (in specific instances). Eligible components include:

• Army Reserve
• Navy Reserve
• Marine Corps Reserve
• Air Force Reserve
• Coast Guard Reserve
• Army National Guard of the United States
• Air National Guard of the United States
• Space Force (in space force active status (10 U.S.C. § 101(e)(1)) and not on sustained duty under 10 U.S.C. § 20105)

To receive military leave, eligible employees must be in a pay status either immediately prior to the beginning of the period of military service or returned to a pay status immediately afterwards. Temporary employees with jobs lasting less than one year are not eligible to receive military leave.

When called to qualifying service, District employees are required to inform their agency verbally or in writing of their upcoming period of active duty and present official service orders to their agency human resources officials.

• Notice may be provided by the employee or an appropriate officer of the military branch in which the employee will be serving. Notice requirements may be waived in cases of military necessity, impossibility, or unreasonable circumstances as defined and officially determined by the appropriate federal authority (38 U.S.C. § 4312).
• Agencies must receive competent orders detailing the employees’ military service before granting military leave. If an employee cannot immediately produce official military orders, agencies shall initially carry the employee in a leave without pay (LWOP) status. Upon receipt of official competent orders, agencies must retroactively adjust the employee’s status to military leave for qualifying service days until military leave credits are exhausted

Eligible employees may use military leave in hourly increments for periods of qualifying service intermittently, a day at a time, or as otherwise directed under orders issued by a competent military authority, so long as the maximum amounts authorized are not exceeded. Scheduled non-workdays falling within a period of military leave are not charged against an employee’s military leave allotment.

Absent specific statutory authority, District employees may not work their District government job while under active military orders.  

Each fiscal and/or calendar year, eligible employees may receive varying amounts of military leave credits. The amount of military leave credits each employee receives is dependent on the employee’s employment status as well as the nature of their military service. Military leave entitlements generally fall into four categories: (1) Military Training and Funeral Duty; (2) Military Aid and Contingency Operations Supports; (3) the D.C. National Guard; and (4) Military Technicians (dual status).

Military Training and Funeral Duty

Eligible full-time employees are credited with 20 workdays (160 hours) of military leave at the beginning of each fiscal year to attend military training, participate in funeral honors duty, or engage in field or coast defense training. Qualifying service includes:

• Active duty, or inactive-duty training under 37 U.S.C. § 101; 
• Funeral honors duty under 10 U.S.C. § 12503 and 32 U.S.C. § 115; or
• Field or coast defense training under 32 U.S.C. §§ 502 – 505.

Eligible part-time employees are credited with a prorated number of military leave hours at the beginning of each fiscal year for the above purposes, calculated as follows:

1. Number of work hours per week ÷ 40 = ratio of hours
2. Ratio of hours x 160 = hours of military leave credited per year

Employees may use a maximum of 320 hours of military leave per fiscal year for this type of military leave. An employee can be credited over 160 hours of military leave because unused military leave hours roll over into succeeding fiscal years; however, the amount of military leave that rolls over may not exceed 160 hours. Any rollover military leave in excess of 160 hours at the beginning of the first full biweekly pay period of the fiscal year shall be forfeited.  

While on military leave under this entitlement, employees receive their full District pay. 

Military Aid and Contingency Operations Support

Eligible employees may receive up to 22 workdays (176 hours) of military leave each calendar year to perform full-time service generally ordered by the President, Secretary of Defense, or State Governor. Qualifying service for Military Aid and Contingency Operations Support includes:

• Federal service under 10 U.S.C. §§ 331 – 333 or 12406, or other provision of law, as applicable, to provide military aid to enforce the law or to provide assistance to civil authorities in the protection or saving of life or property or the prevention of injury;
• Full-time military service for a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States to provide military aid to enforce the law or to provide assistance to civil authorities in the protection or saving of life or property or the prevention of injury; or
• Full-time military service as a result of a call or order to active duty in support of a contingency operation (defined in 10 U.S.C. § 101(a)(13)).

During military leave used for these purposes, District pay will be reduced by any military pay received for military service performed on a workday (not including travel, transportation, or per diem allowances).

For employees covered under the Civil Service Retirement System, the receipt of military pay also reduces their required contribution to the Civil Service Retirement Fund in the same manner as a non-pay status reduces such contributions.

D.C. National Guard (DCNG)

For eligible employees in the D.C. National Guard, different leave entitlements may be used to cover the employee’s period of service:

• When ordered by the Commanding General under Title 49 of the D.C. Code to participate in official parades or encampments, DCNG members are entitled to military leave for the duration of these official events, and employees will receive their full District pay. Military leave shall not be provided for voluntary participation in these events. 
• When ordered to duty to perform the kind of services that would qualify for military leave under the Military Aid or Contingency Operations Support entitlement, military leave is charged to those 176 hours of military leave, and appropriate adjustments to pay will be made as provided in the Military Aid and Contingency Operations Support section of this issuance. 

Military Technicians (dual status)

Eligible employees classified as military technicians (dual status) under 10 U.S.C. § 10216 may receive up to 44 workdays (352 hours) of military leave each calendar year to perform qualifying service. Qualifying service under this entitlement is limited to when the employee is on active duty without pay, as authorized pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 12315, under 10 U.S.C. §§ 12301(b) or 12301(d) for participation in operations outside the United States, its territories and possessions.

While on military leave under this entitlement, employees receive their full District pay. 

Leave and Pay Status

Once an employee exhausts their military leave entitlement, they may use administrative leave (as noted in the eligibility section), annual leave, compensatory time, or request to be placed on LWOP to cover the remainder of their service.

Employees attending any physical examinations required in connection with their period of service may also be covered by military leave if the additional time will not cause them to exceed their military leave limits. If the physical examination cannot be taken without exceeding their military leave limits, the required additional absence shall be charged to sick leave, annual leave, compensatory time, or LWOP, as appropriate.

Tours of Duty

Agencies are encouraged to adjust an employee’s schedule who is scheduled to work on an evening or weekend and have conflicting military service obligations so that their District government duties do not overlap with their reserve duties. When a schedule adjustment is not possible, the agency shall excuse the employee from their District government duties, but the absence shall be charged to military leave, annual leave, compensatory time, or LWOP, as appropriate.

Under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) (38 U.S.C § 4312), individuals generally have the right to return to their civilian position or be reemployed by their employer if they were absent due to qualifying service. District employees generally retain their reemployment rights under USERRA if they:

• Provide advanced written or verbal notice to their agency of their qualifying service, to the extent possible;
• Serve cumulatively five years or less in the uniformed services (subject to USERRA exceptions);
• Report back to or submit timely applications for reemployment; and
• Are not separated from the uniformed service with a disqualifying discharge or dismissal.

District employees who fail to report to work or to apply for reemployment within the required time limits do not automatically forfeit their rights under USERRA, but may be subject to the District’s established rules governing unexcused absences under Chapter 16.

Please contact DCHR for further guidance on returning and reemployment rights and protections established under USERRA.

• Military leave: Reserves, National Guard members, and certain members of the Space Force, 5 U.S.C. § 6323
• Armed Forces, 10 U.S.C. §§ 101 (a)(13), 331-333, 12406
• National Guard, 32 U.S.C. §§ 115, 502-505
• Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services, 37 U.S.C. § 101
• Employment and Reemployment Rights of Members of the Uniformed Services, 38 U.S.C. § 4312
• Military, D.C. Code § 49-101 et seq.
• Leave, D.C. Code § 1-612.03
• Military Leave, EDPM § 1262