When an employee is away from work for unpaid military leave, it is important to report that leave correctly in ECLIPSE. Accurate reporting helps ensure the employee’s record reflects the appropriate status and that service credit is applied correctly when no wages are reported for qualifying leave months.
Under LAGERS reporting rules, if an employee is on military leave for at least one full working day during a calendar month, wages and contributions are not reported for that month. This applies when the military leave is unpaid, including routine drills, training, or deployment.
For any month in which the employee is out on unpaid military leave for at least one full working day, you should report the employee with a Member Status of “Military Leave” in ECLIPSE, report “zero” wages and use a Member Status Date that the employee began unpaid military leave.
For example, if an employee begins unpaid military leave on May 3, 2026, no May wages should be reported on the May wage report. The employee should be reported with a Member Status of “Military Leave,” zero wages, and a Member Status Date of May 3, 2026.
This same reporting approach applies even if the leave begins or ends partway through the month. If the employee is on unpaid military leave for at least one full working day during that month, wages and contributions are not reported for that month.
For example, if an employee goes on military leave on Jan. 25, 2027, and returns to work on May 2, 2027, no wages should be entered for January through May. Regular wage reporting would resume for the employee on the June wage report. The employee is still receiving service credit for the months in which zero wages are reported while the employee is on military leave.
Extended military deployments
For military deployments lasting a year or longer, the employee must return to work for at least one day following their deployment to receive service credit from their military leave. You should keep this in mind when reporting extended military leave and when reviewing member records after the employee returns.
If the employee does not return to work for at least one day following their deployment, military service credit will be removed.
