STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6623 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 1, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Home- land Security and Military Affairs AN ACT to amend chapter 154 of the laws of 1921, relating to the port authority of New York and New Jersey, in relation to military leave for all represented and non-represented persons employed by the port authority of New York and New Jersey The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1 of chapter 154 of the laws of 1921, relating to 2 the port authority of New York and New Jersey, is amended by adding a 3 new article XXIII to read as follows: 4 ARTICLE XXIII 5 1. Definitions. The term: 6 a. "Employee" means those persons employed at the port authority, 7 including but not limited to: full-time and part-time employees, those 8 employees on probation, and temporary employees, whether or not repres- 9 ented by a labor organization. 10 b. "Ordered military duty", as used in this article, means any mili- 11 tary duty performed in the service of the state of New York or of the 12 United States, including but not limited to attendance at any service 13 school or schools conducted by the armed forces of the United States, by 14 a port authority employee as a member of any force of the organized 15 militia or of any reserve force or reserve component of the armed forces 16 of the United States, pursuant to orders issued by competent state or 17 federal authority, with or without the consent of such port authority 18 employee. Participation in routine reserve officer training corps 19 training is not considered to be military duty except when performing 20 advanced training duty as a member of a reserve component of the armed 21 forces. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11012-01-3S. 6623 2 1 2. Leave of absence while engaged in performance of ordered military 2 duty. Every employee shall be entitled to absent themselves and shall be 3 deemed to have a leave of absence from his or her duties or service as 4 such public officer or employee while engaged in the performance of 5 ordered military duty and while going to and returning from such duty. 6 3. Leave of absence while attending service schools. Every employee 7 who is or becomes a voluntary member of any force of the organized mili- 8 tia or of any reserve force or reserve component of the armed forces of 9 the United States shall be entitled to absent themselves and shall be 10 deemed to have a leave of absence from his or her duties or service as 11 such employee while in attendance, as a member of such force or reserve 12 components, at any service school or schools conducted by the armed 13 forces of the United States, and while going to and returning from such 14 school or schools, notwithstanding that orders for such attendance are 15 or may be issued with the consent of such public officer or employee. 16 4. Leave of absence while performing full-time training duty or active 17 duty for training with or in an armed force of the United States. Every 18 employee who is or becomes a member of any force of the organized mili- 19 tia or of any reserve force or reserve component of the armed forces of 20 the United States shall be entitled to absent themselves and shall be 21 deemed to have a leave of absence from his or her duties or service as 22 such public officer or employee while performing, as a member of such 23 force or reserve component, initial full-time training duty or initial 24 active duty for training with or in an armed force of the United States 25 under the provisions of this chapter or the laws of the United States or 26 both, and while going to and returning from such full-time training duty 27 or active duty for training, notwithstanding that orders for such duty 28 are or may be issued with the consent of such public officer or employ- 29 ee. 30 5. Employment rights. Time during which an employee is absent pursuant 31 to the provisions of subdivisions two, three and four of this article 32 shall not constitute an interruption of continuous employment and, 33 notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local law or 34 the provisions of any city charter, no such employee shall be subjected, 35 directly or indirectly, to any loss or diminution of time service, 36 increment, vacation or holiday privileges, or any other right or privi- 37 lege, by reason of such absence, or be prejudiced, by reason of such 38 absence, with reference to continuance in office or employment, reap- 39 pointment to office, re-employment, reinstatement, transfer or 40 promotion. 41 6. Pay for military duty. a. Every employee shall be paid their salary 42 or other compensation as a port authority employee for any and all peri- 43 ods of absence while engaged in the performance of ordered military 44 duty, and while going to and returning from such duty, not exceeding a 45 total of thirty days or twenty-two working days, whichever is greater, 46 in any one calendar year and not exceeding thirty days or twenty-two 47 working days, whichever is greater, in any one continuous period of such 48 absence. 49 b. Every employee of the port authority who served in a combat theater 50 or combat zone of operations as documented by a copy of his or her 51 DD214, certificate of release or discharge from active duty, or other 52 applicable department of defense documentation, shall be paid his or her 53 salary or other compensation as such port authority employee for any and 54 all periods of absence while utilizing any health care related services 55 related to such duty, not exceeding five working days, in any one calen- 56 dar year.S. 6623 3 1 7. Rights and contributions under retirement systems. a. The amount of 2 required contributions to any pension or retirement system of which an 3 employee absent while engaged in the performance of ordered military 4 duty is a member, shall be deducted from the salary or other compen- 5 sation paid to him or her as such employee as provided in this article. 6 If such required contributions exceed the amount of such salary or other 7 compensation to which an employee is entitled while engaged in the 8 performance of military duty, the amount of such salary or other compen- 9 sation shall be applied upon such required contributions and such 10 employee shall have the right to pay to such pension or retirement 11 system the amount by which such contributions exceed such salary or 12 other compensation. Such employee shall also have the right to pay to 13 such system, for any period of the absence during which he or she shall 14 receive no salary or other compensation as an employee of the port 15 authority, the amount that he or she would have contributed to such 16 system if he or she had been present and continuously engaged in the 17 performance of the duties of his or her position during such period. 18 b. Such payments, other than those deducted from his or her salary or 19 other compensation as such employee, may be paid from time to time at 20 any time while engaged in such ordered military duty or within five 21 years after the date of termination of such ordered military duty, or, 22 in the event of the death of such employee while engaged in ordered 23 military duty, such payments, or any part thereof, may be made by the 24 named beneficiary or the legal representative of such employee's estate 25 within one year following proof of such death. 26 c. To the extent that such contributions are paid, absence while 27 engaged in the performance of military duty shall be counted in deter- 28 mining the length of total service under such pension or retirement 29 system. 30 d. Any employee, while engaged in the performance of ordered military 31 duty, or his or her beneficiary, as the case may be, shall be entitled 32 to all the benefits of the pension or retirement system of which he or 33 she is a member, except accidental disability retirement and accidental 34 death benefit. 35 § 2. This act shall take effect upon the enactment into law by the 36 state of New Jersey of legislation having an identical effect with this 37 act, but if the state of New Jersey shall have already enacted such 38 legislation, this act shall take effect immediately; provided that the 39 state of New Jersey shall notify the legislative bill drafting commis- 40 sion upon the occurrence of the enactment of the legislation provided 41 for in section one of this act in order that the commission may maintain 42 an accurate and timely effective data base of the official text of the 43 laws of the state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the pro- 44 visions of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the 45 public officers law.