Revised: August 6, 2007

College personnel who are members of the National Guard or military reserve shall be entitled to leave-of-absence provisions without loss of pay for temporary active duty. One leave period only will be granted in a calendar year and will consist of not more than fifteen calendar days at any time in that year.

Sandhills Community College shall grant leave with pay to members of reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces for certain periods of active duty training and for state military duty. Reserve components of the U.S. Forces are the National Guard, the Army Reserve, the Naval Reserve, the Marine Corps Reserve, the Air Force Reserve, and the Coast Guard Reserve. The Civil Air Patrol is not a reserve component; it is an Air Force Auxiliary, and its members are not subject to obligatory service. The National Guard is unique among the reserve components in that is has a dual role, serving both as a federal reserve component and the State Militia. In its role as the State Militia, the North Carolina Army National Guard and the North Carolina Air National Guard respond to the Governor, who is their Commander-in-Chief, and serve as the military arm of the state government. Therefore, the National Guard is subject to active state duty upon order of the Governor.

1. Periods of Entitlement for all reserve components. Military leave with pay shall be granted to full-time or part-time permanent (prorated for part-time employees), and probationary employees for 120 working hours annually for any type of active military duty of a member not on extended active duty defined below. On rare occasions due to annual training (summer camp) being scheduled on a federal fiscal year basis, an employee may be required to attend two periods of training in one calendar year.
2. Additional periods of entitlement for National Guard members:
   1. Infrequent special activities in the interest of the state, usually not exceeding one day, when so ordered by the Governor or his/her authorized representative;
   2. Active state duty (domestic disturbances, disasters, search and rescue, etc.) for periods not exceeding 30 consecutive calendar days; for period in excess of 30 days, employees shall be entitled to military leave with differential pay between their military pay and regular pay if military pay is the lesser. Military leave for active state duty is to be considered separate from and in addition to military leave that may be granted for other purposes.
3. Unacceptable periods. Employees shall not be entitled to military leave for the following periods:
   1. Regularly scheduled unit assemblies usually occur on weekends and are referred to as “drills.”  Although these periods are unacceptable for military leave with pay, Sandhills Community College, as required by federal law, shall excuse an employee for regularly scheduled military training duty. If necessary, the employee’s work schedule shall be appropriately rearranged to enable the employee to attend these assemblies. To determine the dates of these regularly scheduled unit assemblies, Sandhills Community College requires that the employee provide a unit training schedule that lists training dates for a month or more in advance. Sandhills Community College does not excuse an employee for military service performed under the circumstances defined in (b), (c), and (d) of this item. 
   2. Duties resulting from disciplinary actions imposed by military authorities.
   3. For unscheduled or incidental military activities, such as volunteer work at military facilities, unofficial military activities, etc.
   4. For inactive duty training (drills) performed for the convenience of the member such as equivalent training, split-unit assemblies, make-up drills, etc.
4. Administrative Responsibilities. The employee shall submit a copy of his/her orders or other appropriate documentation evidencing performance of required military duty to the appropriate vice president/Chief Operating Officer or the President of the College. 
5. Retention and Continuation of Benefits. During the period of military leave with pay, no employee shall incur any loss of service or suffer any adverse service rating. The employee shall continue to earn and accumulate sick and annual leave, aggregate service credit, and receive any promotion or salary increase for which otherwise eligible.
6. Leave for Physical Examination for Military Service. An employee shall be granted necessary time off when required to undergo a physical examination relating to military service.
7. Military Leave with Differential Pay. Military leave with differential pay between military pay and regular pay, if military pay is the lesser, shall be granted for active state duty for periods in excess of thirty consecutive days.
8. Military Leave without Pay. Military leave without pay shall be granted for certain periods of active duty or for attendance at service schools. Except for extended active duty, all or any portion of an employee’s 96 hours annual military leave (pro-rated for part-time employees) with pay or regular annual (vacation) leave may be used in lieu of or in conjunction with military leave without pay.

Military leave policy is also addressed in the North Carolina Administrative Code.

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