Florida Governor Jeb Bush has signed a law that will provide for matching grants to be awarded to private sector employers who provide wages to employees serving in the United States Armed Forces or the Florida National Guard while those employees are on federal active duty. Currently, no state or federal law requires private sector employers to pay the wages of an employee who is called to active military duty; however the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act provides for reemployment rights and continuation of certain benefits for employees covered by that law.
Florida Governor Jeb Bush has signed a law that will provide for matching grants to be awarded to private sector employers who provide wages to employees serving in the United States Armed Forces or the Florida National Guard while those employees are on federal active duty. Currently, no state or federal law requires private sector employers to pay the wages of an employee who is called to active military duty; however the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act provides for reemployment rights and continuation of certain benefits for employees covered by that law.
Under the new Florida law, private sector employers in Florida can apply for reimbursement under the Citizen Soldier Matching Grant Program; however, a grant may not be provided for federal active duty that is served before January 1, 2005. Each grant will be awarded to reimburse the employer for not more than one-half of the monthly wages paid to an employee who is a resident of Florida for the actual period of federal active duty. The monthly grant per employee may not exceed one-half the difference between the amount of monthly wages paid by the employer to the employee at the level paid before the date the employee was called to federal active duty and the amount of the employee's active duty base pay, housing and variable allowances, and subsistence allowance.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2005. The Agency for Workforce Innovation is to develop a plan to administer application and payment procedures for the grants. The Agency's deadline for developing this plan is October 1, 2005. No grants are to be awarded until the agency's plan is approved by the Legislative Budget Commission.
The new law also provides that professional licenses issued in Florida for any member of the Florida National Guard or United States Armed Forces Reserve shall not expire while the member is serving on federal active duty and shall be extended for up to 90 days following the member's return from federal active duty. If the license is renewed during the 90-day period after the member's return, s/he is only responsible for normal fees and activities relating to renewal of the license and will not be charged any additional costs such as late or delinquency fees.
We will keep you updated as information becomes available regarding the application and eligibility for grants under the new law. If you have any questions about your rights and obligations with regard to employees called to active military duty or labor or employment issues in general, please contact the Ford & Harrison attorney with whom you usually work.