All officers and employees of the state or a political subdivision thereof who are members of the Oklahoma National Guard or any reserve component of any branch of the United States military, shall, when ordered by proper authority to active or inactive service, be entitled to a leave of absence from civil employment for the period of active service, without loss of status or efficiency rating. During the first thirty (30) calendar days for employees of political subdivisions or the first thirty (30) regular scheduled work days for state employees, or not to exceed two hundred forty (240) hours, of the leave of absence in any federal fiscal year, the officers or employees shall receive their full regular pay from the employing state agency or political subdivision. During the remainder of the leave of absence in any federal fiscal year, the employing state agency or political subdivision may elect to pay them an amount equal to the difference between the officers' or employees' full regular pay from the employing state agency or political subdivision and their Oklahoma National Guard or United States military reserve component pay, except that state officers and employees shall receive the difference between their full regular pay and their Oklahoma National Guard or United States military reserve component pay when they are ordered by proper authority to active or inactive service retroactive to the date that the state officer or employee reported to active service on or after September 11, 2001, during the period that Operation Enduring Freedom is in effect, or any subsequent contingency operation declared by the Secretary of Defense. The durational limit of protected military service as provided for in this section shall not be less than that provided by federal law. If it is necessary in the public interest to provide for the performance of the duties of their positions during such absence, the authority having power to fill a vacancy in the positions may appoint substitutes, to be known as acting incumbents, who shall qualify as required for the regular incumbents and shall receive the same pay, including benefits and pay adjustments, as fixed by law, if any, or otherwise such pay, including benefits and pay adjustments, as may be fixed by proper authority.

The Office of Management and Enterprise Services shall promulgate rules as necessary to implement the provisions of this section that relate to state employees.

Added by Laws 1935, p. 92, § 5, emerg. eff. April 19, 1935. Amended by Laws 1973, c. 275, § 1, emerg. eff. May 30, 1973; Laws 1988, c. 31, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1988; Laws 1991, c. 232, § 3, emerg. eff. May 24, 1991; Laws 1994, c. 94, § 2, eff. July 1, 1994; Laws 2000, c. 240, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2000; Laws 2002, c. 396, § 1, emerg. eff. June 5, 2002; Laws 2003, c. 212, § 1, eff. July 1, 2003; Laws 2005, c. 437, § 2, eff. July 1, 2005; Laws 2006, c. 156, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2006; Laws 2012, c. 304, § 154; Laws 2017, c. 80, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2017.