Military Leave: Alaska

This Alaska Military Leave policy applies to employees in Alaska and is designed to align with USERRA and Alaska's military leave and reemployment protections, including AS 26.05.075 and AS 39.20.340, which provide job protection and, for certain covered service (including Alaska National Guard, Alaska Naval Militia, and Alaska State Defense Force duty), require leave without loss of pay or accrued benefits when service or training is ordered under applicable law.

The History Behind Military Leave Policies in Alaska

Military Leave & USERRA regulations are meant to help service members feel confident they won't lose their jobs for getting called to service. Congress addressed this topic after World War II with the Veterans' Reemployment Rights Act, and then modernized and strengthened it in 1994 with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). USERRA set the national baseline for job protection, reemployment rights, and anti-discrimination rules for employees who serve. Courts then spent years filling in the practical details, , including the US Supreme Court's "escalator principle" in Fishgold v. Sullivan Drydock (1946), which says returning service members step back onto the seniority and benefits track they would have had if they never left. They also addressed topics like what counts as "reemployment," and when an employer can claim that reinstatement is impossible or unreasonable.

Alaska layered its own expectations on top, largely because the state relies heavily on the Alaska National Guard and related state forces for emergencies and defense support. Alaska statutes give certain members of the Alaska National Guard, Alaska Naval Militia, and Alaska State Defense Force job-protected leave for ordered training or service, and they also address how pay and accrued leave are treated for covered duty. That mix of federal baseline rights plus Alaska-specific rules is why many Alaska employers ensure their written military leave policy comprehensively covers state law too, even when they might think they "already follow USERRA."

Which Law is the Military Leave Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute a Military Leave Policy for your Alaska-based employees, it is in an effort to comply with Alaska's AS 26.05.075 and AS 39.20.340.

How to Write an Alaska-Specific Military Leave Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept.
• State that Alaska employees receive military leave rights consistent with USERRA and applicable Alaska law.
• Define who is covered for Alaska-specific military leave (state military forces and National Guard members) and the types of duty covered (training or ordered service).
• Explain how military leave affects pay and other employment benefits.
• Clarify the option to use accrued paid time off during otherwise unpaid military leave.
• Describe the right to reinstatement to the prior job or a comparable role with equivalent pay, seniority, and benefits.
• Set expectations for returning to work after service and note that standard attendance discipline may apply for unexcused absences.
• Address reemployment options when a service-related disability prevents returning to the prior job.
• Note the limited circumstances where reemployment rights may not apply due to business impossibility or undue hardship.
• Include a basic process for requesting military leave and providing advance notice.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

The law does not require you to publish a policy or issue a specific notice. That said, you still have to comply with the requirements that apply to you as an employer. 

This is a "depends on your workplace" policy. Include it if you offer the benefit, operate in a setting where this comes up, have a state-specific rule that differs from your national approach, or you've had issues in this area before. If you already have a clear all-employee policy that covers the same ground (and it meets Alaska's requirements), you may not need a separate policy here. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to Alaska employers who have at least 1 employee in the US.

Exceptions

None.