Military Leave: Arizona

This Arizona Military Leave policy applies to employees in Arizona under Arizona Revised Statutes sections 26-167 and 26-168, which extend USERRA-like job protections to eligible members of the Arizona National Guard and reserve forces who need time away from work for military service. Your organization should use a clear, Arizona-specific policy to explain who qualifies, how employees should request leave and communicate during service, how unpaid leave and optional use of accrued paid time off work, and your commitment to non-discrimination and reemployment rights when service ends.

The History Behind Military Leave Policies in Arizona

Military Leave & USERRA try to prevent employers from penalizing military service, mainly by denying reemployment after duty. Congress addressed that problem 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, like what counts as "reemployment," how seniority and benefits accrue, and when an employer can claim that reinstatement is impossible or unreasonable.

Arizona layered on state protections for Guard members who serve on state active duty. ARS § 26-167 and 26-168 address employment protections and related rights for members of the Arizona National Guard and other reserve components when they're ordered to duty. That state-law overlay matters in real workplaces because wildfires, border missions, and disaster response can pull employees out of their jobs quickly, and the orders can look different than federal mobilizations.

Employers started treating a written military leave policy as a baseline practice once USERRA enforcement became more visible. The U.S. Depts. of Labor and Justice can enforce USERRA, and service members can also sue directly, so a missed step can be painful. A clear policy became the practical way to standardize notice, time away, and return-to-work expectations, especially for multi-state employers that need one SOP that still respects Arizona's Guard-specific rules.

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

If you create and distribute a Military Leave Policy for your Arizona-based employees, it is in an effort to comply with Arizona's Military leave of absence; state, county, city or town employees; reemployment rights (A.R.S. 26-167) and Military leave of absence; private employees; reemployment rights (A.R.S. 26-168).

How to Write an Arizona-Specific Military Leave Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept.
• Define who can take military leave under Arizona rules.
• State that military leave is unpaid and that employees may use available accrued paid time off.
• Explain the expectation that employees give notice of military duty and communicate their intent to return to work.
• Provide a clear way to request military leave through your HR contact.
• Commit to non-discrimination and non-retaliation for requesting or taking military leave.

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 Arizona's requirements), you may not need a separate policy here. 

Other Considerations

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

Exceptions

None.