UAL Recall/MIL Leave question

[leftcoast]

This is a question for any military reservist/UAL types out there. My recall appears to be getting close so this is coming up sooner than I thought.

I am not on 'orders' at the moment but have plenty to do in my unit such that it is essentially a full time job. If I don't want to put together 5 weeks for a requal class any time soon, it would not be hard to come up with valid mil leave reasons to avoid requal class. ie I can be on a mil status of some type more than half the month.

Can I tell UAL that I accept recall but want to go on mil leave in this situation? I'd rather come back at a time of my choosing and keep pass benefits going etc.

Any inputs are appreciated

 

[L'il J.Seinfeld]

Yes. Do a search of USERRRA. It's the Uniformed Services Employment Rights and Reemployment Rights Act. Also, the Employee Support of the Guard and Reserve website is good. You earned it and might as well take advantage of your mil status. I assume you are an O4/O-5 and can make a much better QoL and pay in the USAFR. UAL basically has to hold your job for 5 years and give you any promotions you would have attained while you were there. Good luck.

 

[Tweetybird]

I thought that when I was furloughed (first round, so I have PLENTY of time) that the CBA stated I had 5 years and 90 days to return upon recall if on a Military LOA. Then, soon after it was changed (perhaps via an ALPA email) to 6 years. Perhaps I missed the boat. Any thought. In the mean time, I'm going to do some research.

 

[Andy]

Tweetybird, with the seat locks from C2003, you may want to get the clock running ASAP and then do mil drops after getting requaled. However, I believe that if you go back to the same seat, you don't get a seat lock. I think that there's a time out of the seat limitation; you may want to check on that.

Tweetybird, MLOA was changed to 6 years.

 

[Huggyu2]

By law, the answer is "5 years". That's a minimum. UAL extended it to 6 years, so more power to you if you use it. The law also has provisions that can allow you to go longer, but I can't remember the specifics of that. However, as I recall, Reservists have an easier time invoking that specific law than do Active Duty folks.
As for "getting the clock running", I'm sure that once you declare mil leave (on your class start date), you'd begin the clock, assuming you're full time. If you're part time, I'd agree with Andy that you should consider doing requal training, then starting to piece together your mil leave plan.

 

[Mooseflyer]

Orders taken in support of OIF/OEF do not count towards the 5 year clock - says so printed right on 'em.

 

[Andy]

As for "getting the clock running", I'm sure that once you declare mil leave (on your class start date), you'd begin the clock, assuming you're full time. If you're part time, I'd agree with Andy that you should consider doing requal training, then starting to piece together your mil leave plan.

IIRC, the seat lock clock is based on completion of IOE. At the very least, it will be based on completion of TK. The seat lock is not tied to a class start date.

Orders taken in support of OIF/OEF do not count towards the 5 year clock - says so printed right on 'em.

You're correct; contingency orders do not effect the clock. IIRC, you reset the 6 year clock every time that you come off of orders. No matter, after 6 years, you stop accruing longevity and seniority; you're not off of the seniority list. If your military job is good enough that you want to stay at it rather than resetting the clock, then it's probably one helluva good job (and you don't care about losing seniority at UAL).

 

[Huggyu2]

Andy,
You're more up to speed than I am on this, but I'm sure that I remember that the 5 year mil leave window is "cumulative": you don't reset the clock. I'll check this out to make sure, though.