Maryland Civil Air Patrol (Md. Code Ann./ Lab. & Empl. § 3-1001-1008)

NOTE: This leave will not appear on claims if your organization has chosen not to administer it.

Covered Employers: Any person that employs more than 15 employees.

Employee Eligibility: An eligible employee is one who: (a) is a volunteer member of the civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force known as the Civil Air Patrol; and (b) has been authorized by the United States Air Force, the Governor, or a political subdivision of the State to respond to an emergency mission.

Entitlement: An employer shall provide no less than 15 days per calendar year of unpaid Civil Air Patrol leave to an employee responding to an emergency mission of the Maryland Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.

Employer Notice: Not specified

Employee Notice: An employee shall five the employer as much notice as possible of the intended dates of the beginning and end of leave. After arriving at an emergency location, the employee shall notify the employer with an estimate of the amount of time needed to complete the emergency mission. The employee shall report to the employer necessary changes in the time required to complete the mission.

Obligation to Provide Certifications or Documents Supporting Need for Leave: The employer may require verification of the eligibility of the employee for the Civil Air Patrol leave requested or taken. If the employee fails to provide the required certification, the employer may deny the Civil Air Patrol leave.

Paid?: No. But nothing in the law prevents an employer from providing pay for Maryland Civil Air Patrol leave.

Benefits: An employer and an employee may negotiate for the employer to pay for the benefits of the employee during the leave. The use of Civil Air Patrol leave may not result in the loss of an employee benefit accrued before the first date of leave.

Reinstatement: The employer shall restore the employee to the position held when the leave began or to a position with equivalent seniority status, benefits, pay, and conditions of employment when the employee returns to work. An employer may decline to restore an employee as required in this subtitle because of circumstances unrelated to the provisions of this subtitle.

Other Important Definitions/Requirements: An employer may not discriminate against or discharge from employment and employee who has been employed for a minimum of 90 days and is a member of the Civil Air Patrol because of membership in the Civil Air Patrol. An employer may not hinder or prevent an employee who has been employed for a minimum of 90 days from performing service as part of the Maryland Wing of the Civil Air Patrol during an emergency mission if the member is entitled to leave under this subtitle.*

*From Littler: "We do not believe that the 90-day requirement applies for employee eligibility for the leave in the first instance, although this remains unclear. We have been unable to ascertain why the 90-day eligibility requirement is in the discrimination/interference provisions but not tied to the leave entitlement itself. "

Relationship with Other Leave: An employee taking leave under this subtitle may not be required to exhaust all available leave before using Civil Air Patrol leave. An employee using leave under Title 13 of the Public Safety Article may not concurrently use Maryland Civil Air Patrol leave.

Absence Specification