Polk County (Arkansas) Employees: Paid Military Leave

The State rule is Arkansas Code section 21-4-102; see the Arkansas entry on military leave for public employees. Polk County's Employee Benefits Policy, codified as section 250.00 of the County Code (Ordinance 1977-014 as amended, last by Ordinance 2021-024 of November 24, 2021), paragraph 5, Military Leave: "Regular, full-time employees who are members of the National Guard or of the reserve branches of the armed forces shall be granted leave at the rate of fifteen days per calendar year, plus necessary travel time for annual training requirements." Unused leave "will accumulate for use in the succeeding calendar year until it totals fifteen days at the beginning of a calendar year", and the leave is "without loss of pay and in addition to regular time". Give a copy of the orders for your personnel file. Emergencies and active duty. An employee called to duty in an emergency by the Governor or the President gets leave with pay of up to 30 working days, then leave without pay, on top of vacation. An employee drafted, called to active duty or volunteering goes on extended military leave without pay and, applying within ninety days of release, is reinstated to the same or an equivalent position with no loss of seniority or benefits; the policy says an employee who enlists or reenlists for a second consecutive tour forfeits that right, so check it against USERRA, which counts up to five years of service. National Guard members called by the Governor have the same protections as those called to federal service. The code's carry-over (to 15 days) is lower than the State statute's (a total of 30 days a year); ask the County Judge's office ((479) 394-8123) which applies. The Municode copy is the version current on April 3, 2023.