• While not required, employers may choose to pay employees on military leave.
• Employers either pay nothing, pay the full wages, or make up the difference between military pay and the employee’s salary.

Employers are not required to provide any salary or wages to active-duty personnel while on military leave. Employers may, however, voluntarily pay employees during the leave. Some companies make up the difference between military pay and the employee’s salary. Others pay the full amount of wages in addition to the military pay, while some employers pay nothing.

If employers decide to pay wages or salary to service members, there are certain criteria that can be used. Examples could include the following:

• Whether the service is voluntary or involuntary — did employees sign up, or were they drafted or called into active service in the National Guard?
• Is the employee full time or part time?

Employers could have a written policy that allows for salary or wages to be paid to employees who meet certain criteria (for example, those who are full time and whose military service is involuntary). Service members, however, are entitled to other paid leave benefits that are provided to other employees who are on a leave of absence.

The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax (HEART) Act gives a tax credit to small businesses (those of 50 employees or less) to encourage them to pay reservists the difference in wages between pay as an employee versus military pay.

Exempt (salaried) employees also have protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Specifically, the FLSA states that the employer must pay a full week’s salary for salaried employees for the following reasons:

Any week the employee performs any work. Example: An employee goes into work Monday morning and is called up for military service in the afternoon. In this case, the employer needs to pay the employee’s entire salary for the week.

Any week in which the employee is on military leave and performs work for the employer. Example: An employee is assigned to a military base and communicates, by email, with the manager several times each week about work-related issues. Since the employee is technically working for the civilian employer, the employee may be entitled to the salary (in addition to the military pay).