The Commonwealth of Virginia is committed to recruiting and retaining veterans.  In support of this commitment, the Department of Human Resources (DHRM) has made updates to the Annual Leave Policy (4.10). The annual leave accrual rate has been updated to include a veteran’s service in the military, National Guard or Reserves. This change will be in effect starting on 1/10/2023 and will apply to current and new employees. This change will not be retroactive and will apply going forward following the 1/10/2023 effective date. Service includes:

• Active duty military;
• National Guard or Reserves active or inactive duty; or
• Full-time State or Federal National Guard duty.

Current Employees:

Full-time, 12-month veteran employees who accrue annual leave have been asked to submit a Form DD-214 validating their years of service to Lindsey Weston in Human Resources at lweston@virginiawestern.edu.  Employees may also bring a hard-copy to the HR office, if preferred.  Due to the upcoming holidays and the tight implementation time frame, we have asked that DD-214 forms be provided to Lindsey by 5 PM on December 15, 2022.  

• Effective January 10, 2023, the annual leave accrual rate for current employees who are veterans will be adjusted based on their total years of active service in the military, National Guard or Reserves. 
• Total years of service will be calculated by adding current state service, the net active service, total prior active service, and total prior inactive service from Form DD-214. The Leave Eligibility Service Date will be adjusted in Cardinal accordingly.

Example: Veteran was hired 2 years ago with no previous state service and has 20 years of service in the military. Their current accrual rate is 4 hours of annual leave per pay period (under 5 years.) Taking into account current state service and prior military service, their new accrual rate will be 8 hours of annual leave per pay period.

New Hires:

Effective 1/10/2023, the annual leave accrual rate for new employees or rehires who are veterans will be adjusted based on their total years of service in the military, National Guard or Reserves. New hires/rehires must submit Form DD-214 as a part of their onboarding paperwork to Human Resources, showing the total years of service. Total years of service will be calculated by adding the net active service, total prior active service, and total prior inactive service from Form DD-214. The Leave Eligibility Service Date in Cardinal will be adjusted accordingly.

Example: Veteran is hired with no state service and 15 years of Reserve service. They will accrue 7 hours of annual leave (15-19 years) per pay period instead of 4 hours of annual leave (under 5 years.)

The DHRM Annual Leave Policy and the Service Credit Policy Guide have been updated with this new information.

If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources.