• The number of days an employee is absent due to training or military duty affect what is required for reemployment.

What actions an employee must take for reemployment when returning from training or military duty are governed by guidelines based on the number of days of military duty.

Military duty of fewer than 31 days (1 to 30 days)

When an employee is absent due to training or military duty for less than 31 days, the returning employee doesn’t have to submit an application for reemployment. The employee must report to work by the beginning of the first regularly scheduled workday that would fall eight hours after the employee returns home.

Employers may not, for example, require a service member who returns home at 10:00 p.m. to report to work two and a half hours later at 12:30 a.m. However, they may require the employee to report for the 6 a.m. shift the next morning.

If, due to no fault of the employee, timely reporting back to work would be impossible or unreasonable, the employee must report back to work as soon as possible.

The time limit for reporting back to work for an employee who is absent from work in order to take a fitness-for-service examination is the same as the one above for employees who are absent for 1 to 30 days. This period will apply regardless of the length of the employee’s absence.

Military duty between 30 and 180 days

For military duty that lasted 31 to 180 days, employees must submit an application for reemployment to the employer no later than 14 days after completion of the military service. If submission of a timely application is impossible or unreasonable through no fault of the person, the application must be submitted as soon as possible on the next day when submitting the application becomes possible.

Military duty of more than 180 days

If the period of service was for more than 180 days, the application for reemployment (written or verbal) must be submitted within 90 days after completion of service.

A person’s reemployment rights are not automatically forfeited if the person fails to report to work or to apply for reemployment within the required time limits. In such cases, the person will be subject to the employer’s established rules governing unexcused absences.

If an employee is hospitalized or convalescing because of an injury or illness occurring or aggravated during military service, the reporting or application deadlines are extended for up to two years. If circumstances make reporting within the two-year period impossible or unreasonable, the two-year period will be extended by the minimum time required to accommodate the employee.