Each year in February and June, LAGERS employer services specialists review active employee accounts that are currently reported as being on military leave, workers’ compensation, educational leave, or unpaid leave of absence. As part of this process, employers are contacted to confirm that these leave statuses are still accurate and are being reported correctly.
While maintaining accurate employee account statuses is part of the monthly reporting process, this check-in provides an additional opportunity to ensure records remain up to date. Without employer confirmation, members on leave could remain in those statuses indefinitely. Identifying and correcting changes now helps prevent issues such as retroactive wage reporting or back payments that may be required when updates are delayed.
Below are instructions for changing an employee’s leave status in ECLIPSE.
Tip: From the Payroll Summary screen, open one (or more) departments to access the Payroll Header. Here you will see each employee’s wages and account status. To update an employer’s status, find the employee in the list. Select the appropriate status from the Member Status dropdown, then enter the date on which the status changed in the Member Status Date field before submitting the wage report.
When an Employee Goes on Military Leave
An employee will continue to receive service credit towards their benefit if they are called to active military duty. If they will be away on military leave (including routine drills, training, or U. S. Armed Forces deployment) for at least one full working day during a calendar month, you should report their status as “Military Leave,” report zero wages, and enter the first day they went on leave as the member status date in ECLIPSE. To receive service credit for military leave, the employee must return to LAGERS-covered employment within one year of returning from duty.
When an Employee Receives Worker’s Compensation
An employee will receive service credit while out on workers’ compensation leave. If they will be out on leave for at least one full working day during a calendar month, report their status as “Workers Compensation,” report zero wages, and enter the first day they went on leave as their member status date in ECLIPSE. Note: The date entered for “Member Status Date” is assuming the person is approved for workers compensation. If they are not approved, they should be reported as normal.
When an Employee Goes on Educational Leave
An employee will receive service credit toward their benefit if your organization grants them educational leave for two years or less. If the employee will be on educational leave at least one full working day during a calendar month, report their status as “Educational Leave.” report zero wages, and enter the first day they went on leave as their member status date in ECLIPSE. To receive service credit for their educational leave, they must return to work after their leave is done.
When an Employee Takes an Unpaid Leave of Absence
A LAGERS member will not continue to receive service credit while on an unpaid leave of absence. If an employee is on an unpaid leave of absence during a calendar month, they must be reported as having a status of “Leave of Absence” on ECLIPSE and a Member Status Date as the date they began unpaid leave. If the employee is being paid vacation, sick, or donated leave at their regular hours, the member status date should be the date the leave time runs out.
For more information or questions about changing employee status, please refer to the Administrative Handbook or contact your employer services specialist.
