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Title 37, Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed ServicesRelease 119-102

§802 Forfeiture of Pay During Absence From Duty Due to Disease From Intemperate Use of Alcohol or Drugs

Title 37 › CHAPTER 15 — PROHIBITIONS AND PENALTIES › § 802

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Active-duty members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Space Force will not be paid for any continuous absence of more than one day if they become sick that was directly caused by, and came right after, excessive alcohol use or habit-forming drug use. If pay is withheld for more than one month, the member gets $5 for personal expenses for each full month without pay. The Secretary in charge of that military branch decides how long the absence lasted and whether the sickness was caused by alcohol or drugs, and that decision is final.

Full Legal Text

Title 37, §802

Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

A member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Space Force, on active duty who is absent from the member’s regular duties for a continuous period of more than one day because of disease that is directly caused by and immediately follows the member’s intemperate use of alcoholic liquor or habit-forming drugs is not entitled to pay for the period of that absence. However, a member whose pay is forfeited for more than one month is entitled to $5 for personal expenses for each full month that the member’s pay is forfeited. Determinations of periods and causes of absence under this section shall be made as prescribed by the Secretary concerned, and are final.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 802 10:3632.[None.] 10:6111.[None.] 10:8632.[None.] The words “Navy . . . or Marine Corps” are substituted for the words “naval service”, in section 6111 of title 10, to conform to the definition of that term in section 5001(a)(3) of title 10. The words “and conclusive” are omitted as surplusage.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2021—Pub. L. 116–283 substituted “Marine Corps, or Space Force” for “or Marine Corps” and substituted “the member’s” for “his” wherever appearing.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

37 U.S.C. § 802

Title 37, Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102