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Military Leave for State Employees — 120 Paid Hours, Then 30 Days’ Pay, Then Differential
A state employee in the Guard or reserves gets up to 120 hours of leave with pay each federal fiscal year for training and drills. For involuntary active service the state pays up to 30 calendar days at your annual state salary, then differential pay for the rest of the period.
Verified August 23, 2026
What this benefit is
A state employee in the Guard or reserves gets up to 120 hours of leave with pay each federal fiscal year for training and drills. For involuntary active service the state pays up to 30 calendar days at your annual state salary, then differential pay for the rest of the period.
What it's worth: 120 paid hours a federal fiscal year, plus 30 calendar days of pay and then differential pay
- Leave with pay is up to a maximum of 120 hours each federal fiscal year, running October to September, prorated for part-time employees, for active duty for training and inactive duty training.
- Where a military obligation is less than 31 days, the employee is authorised eight hours of recoup time before and after the duty, which may also be charged to the 120 hours, to leave without pay or to vacation or bonus leave.
- For each period of involuntary service on state or federal active duty, members receive up to 30 calendar days of pay based on the employee’s current annual state salary.
- After that 30-day period, members receive differential pay for any period of involuntary service — the difference between military basic pay and the employee’s annual state salary, where military pay is the lesser.
- Eligibility is limited: full-time or part-time (half-time or more) permanent, probationary and time-limited employees. Temporary and part-time employees below half-time are not eligible for military leave, though temporary employees are still covered by the reinstatement policies.
Who is entitled to it
- You are a member of the uniformed services.
- You are an employee of the state.
- The leave belongs to the serving employee.
- Your home is in North Carolina.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
Deadline: On notice of orders or drill dates- 1Count the year as the federal fiscal year, October to September. Leave taken in September and leave taken in October belong to different allowances.
- 2Give notice. The employing agency is required to obtain written or verbal notice of any service from you or from an appropriate officer of the uniformed service.
- 3For differential pay, hand over the Leave and Earnings Statement. The agency is required to ask for it — or a similar document — covering the period eligible for differential pay, and the payment will not run without it.
- 4Ask for the eight hours of recoup time where the obligation is under 31 days and travel is involved. It exists precisely for the convoy-on-Friday problem and it is easy to leave unclaimed.
- 5Check the health plan position for a long call-up. On state duty the state continues to pay for health coverage for members of the National Guard; on federal active duty the state pays for State Health Plan coverage for at least 30 days from the date of active service, and partial premiums are not accepted.
- 6Keep accruing. Employees continue to accumulate sick and vacation leave while on military leave.
- 7If you are temporary or work less than half-time, do not assume you are outside everything: you are not eligible for military leave benefits, but you are still covered by the reinstatement policies.
- 8On return, work through the reinstatement sections of the policy with your HR office — position, salary and time limits are all set out there rather than left to negotiation.
- Form
- Your agency’s military leave request, with orders and a Leave and Earnings Statement
- File with
- Your state agency human resources office
- Annual
- Claimed once a year.
CorrectionIt is 120 hours, not 15 days. For anyone whose shifts are not eight hours long, converting the allowance to days gives the wrong answer in both directions.
Worth knowingThe differential pay does not start on day one. Thirty calendar days of full state pay come first, and only then does the difference between military basic pay and state salary take over.
Known gapN.C.G.S. § 127A-116 itself and 25 NCAC 01E .0800 were not read this session — ncleg.gov refused retrieval. The figures above are the state human resources manual’s, which is the operating document your agency will apply.
Sources
- authority · published policyNorth Carolina Office of State Human Resources — State Human Resources Manual, Military Leave Policy effective 1 September 2024, promulgated pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 127A-116 and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (leave with pay up to a maximum of 120 hours each Federal fiscal year, October to September, prorated for part-time employees, for active duty for training and inactive duty training; where a military obligation is less than 31 days an employee is authorised eight hours recoup time before and after the duty; covered employees are full-time or part-time half-time or more permanent, probationary and time-limited employees, with temporary and part-time below half-time not eligible for military leave but covered under the reinstatement policies; for each period of involuntary service when ordered to State or Federal active duty, members shall receive up to thirty calendar days of pay based on the employee’s current annual State salary, and after the thirty-day period members shall receive differential pay for any period of involuntary service, being the difference between military basic pay and the employee’s annual State salary if military pay is the lesser; the agency shall require a copy of the Leave and Earnings Statement or similar document covering the period eligible for differential pay)
- operating · published policyNorth Carolina Office of State Human Resources — Military Leave Policy page, citing G.S. 126-4(5) and G.S. 127A-116 and 25 NCAC 01E .0800, and stating that leave will be granted to employees of the state for certain periods of service in the uniformed services and that no agent or employee of the State shall discriminate against an employee or applicant because of membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation for service in the Uniformed Services
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