§ 82701
TITLE 1: GOVERNMENT
DIVISION 8: PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT
§ 82701. Military and Emergency Service Leave. (a) All permanent employees of the Commonwealth government, including those in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches, and any autonomous agency, office, board, authority, commission, or instrumentality, shall be entitled to paid military and emergency service leave not to exceed 30 working days per calendar year. This leave shall be available to all permanent Commonwealth government employees that: (1) are a member of any of the following: (i) the United States National Guard; (ii) a reserve component of the United States Armed Forces; (iii) the Federal Emergency Management Agency Reservist Program; (iv) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps; or (v) any other uniformed service covered by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, 38 U.S.C. §§ 4301 et seq.; and (2) are ordered to perform active duty, training, emergency response, or other authorized service under competent military, federal, or state authority, including service in response to a national emergency, disaster, or other major incident. (b) Military and emergency service leave shall be granted upon the presentation of valid military orders or other appropriate documentation. (c) The maximum amount of paid leave authorized under this Section is 30 working days per calendar year. The 30-day cap shall not prevent an employee from electing to use other accrued leave benefits for absences in excess of the cap. Source: PL 24-18, § 3 (Nov. 26, 2025). Commission Comment: The Commission numbered this section pursuant to 1 CMC § 3806(a). In addition to section 3, PL 24-18 contained section 1 “Short Title” stating that this “Act may be cited as the ‘Military and Emergency Service Leave Act of 2025’” and Section 2 “Findings and Purpose,” stating: The Legislature finds that the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), 38 U.S.C. §§ 4301 et seq., is a federal law that protects employees who serve in the nation’s uniformed services from job discrimination. In September 2022, the Civilian Reservist Emergency Workforce (CREW) Act amended USERRA to explicitly include Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Reservists as part of the protected uniformed services. In light of the CREW Act, the Legislature finds it necessary to update the CNMI Government’s military leave benefit to reflect the expanded categories of federal uniformed service now reorganized under USERRA. This Act modernizes eligibility for the CNMI Government’s paid military leave benefit by expressly including permanent CNMI Government employees who serve in the National Guard, reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, the FEMA Reservist Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, or any other uniformed service covered under USERRA. By doing so, this
TITLE 1: GOVERNMENT
DIVISION 8: PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT Act ensures that all eligible CNMI Government uniformed service employees ordered to perform active duty, training, emergency response, or other authorized service under competent authority are extended this employee benefit. The Legislature also finds that multiple jurisdictions are expanding their military leave benefits to better support citizen-soldiers as they balance increasingly demanding service obligations with civilian employment. For example, in 2024, Maryland enacted the Time to Serve Act, which authorized an increase in the amount of leave state employees may take for military reserve duties from 15 to 30 days. Similarly, Section 1109 of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, Pub. L. No. 118-159, increased federal military leave benefits from 15 to 20 days. Like Maryland and the United States, the Legislature finds that increasing the CNMI Government’s military leave benefit from 15 to 30 days per calendar year promotes the well-being and financial stability of government employees who also fulfill military and federal emergency service duties. The Legislature also acknowledges that this Act’s expanded benefit strengthens the CNMI Government’s ability to recruit and retain uniformed service personnel by enhancing the appeal and competitiveness of public sector employment for those who serve. Thus, by enacting this legislation, the CNMI affirms its commitment to support citizen-soldiers and emergency responders who bear dual responsibilities to their nation and their communities. The expanded eligibility and increased duration of the paid leave benefit authorized by this Act ensures that the CNMI Government remains a fair, supportive, and missionready employer in line with the evolving expectations of federal law and national service.