Committee updates county military-leave language to match recent state law

Summary

The committee recommended aligning county Policy 313 with a recent change in state statute that removed a 90-day waiting period; the county policy now provides 20 working days of paid military leave and includes language for 30 days in certain mobilizations, effective with the statute change in Aug. 2025.

Tracy Peters told the Personnel Overview Committee that Policy 313 required editing to reflect a recent change in state law removing a 90-day waiting period for paid military leave.

Under the revision, county employees who are military members are entitled to 20 working days of military leave without loss of pay. Peters said language was also added to address situations of full or partial mobilization, where certain deployments can entitle employees to up to 30 days of paid leave.

A committee member asked whether the county intended the policy to be retroactive to the date the statute changed. Peters said the county would follow the statute’s effective date and noted the revised state law became effective in August 2025.

A motion to reflect the statute change in county policy was made and seconded; the committee voted to approve the change and the motion passed. The action will be forwarded to the full Cass County Commission for final adoption.