Michigan Paid Military Leave for Firefighters and Police Officers

The military leave for first responders act, 2026 PA 58, took immediate effect on July 23, 2026 and is the newest substantial veterans or servicemember benefit in the Michigan file. The duty. At the beginning of each year, an employer shall provide each qualified member with not less than 26 days of paid military leave. Twenty-six days is a floor, not a ceiling; a collective bargaining agreement or an employer policy may give more. Who the employer is. An organized fire department as defined in the fire prevention code, or a law enforcement agency, which is defined to include the Department of State Police, a county sheriff's office, and the police department of a local unit of government. Who the member is. A full-time member of an organized fire department or law enforcement agency. Part-time, volunteer and paid on-call members are expressly excluded, which leaves a large share of Michigan's fire service outside the act. A qualified member is a full-time member who is enlisted in the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, and the reserve components are defined to include the Army and Air National Guard of the United States and the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard reserves. What the leave covers. Time off for performance of duty, including compliance with any order to report for any reason or to deploy, and for training. Drill weekends and annual training are inside it. What is paid. Wages at a pay rate equal to the member's regular pay rate and, for a member in a bargaining unit covered by a collective bargaining agreement the employer has signed, all contractually required fringe benefits and accruals normally provided in the course of employment. Notice. A member using paid military leave must give the employer a copy of the military orders requiring the absence. For leave of 10 or more but fewer than 20 consecutive days, the request must be made not less than 14 days before the leave begins. For 20 or more consecutive days, as many days before as is reasonably possible. Use it or lose it. An employer shall not allow carryover of unused paid military leave from one year to the next and shall not provide financial or other reimbursement for unused leave. Unused leave lapses at the end of the year in which it was provided. "Year" means a calendar year or a portion of one, so a member hired in October gets the entitlement for that partial year and it lapses on December 31. The provision for someone not yet enlisted. Section 419.227(4) requires an employer to provide paid military leave to a member who is not a qualified member but who receives an order for a preinduction physical examination to enlist in the reserve components, so the member can attend. A firefighter thinking about enlisting does not have to spend annual leave on the physical. The companion act. 2026 PA 57 amended 32.273a so that a local unit's option to provide a differential pay program or paid military leave days is now expressed as being subject to this act, which converts the option into an obligation for the covered first responders while leaving it discretionary for everyone else on the payroll.