Entitlement of Civilian Employee to Military Leave

The Army requested an advance decision concerning whether an Army civilian employee, who is a member of the Naval Reserve, was entitled to have his absence from his civilian job charged to military leave. The period in question had been designated as a drill day by the Reserve. GAO stated that civilian employees of the federal government are entitled to military leave only if they are on active duty or are engaged in field or coast defense training as members of the National Guard or a Reserve component of the Armed Forces. Required drills or training periods, for which a person receives drill pay, are not considered active duty. Accordingly, GAO concluded that the civilian was not entitled to military leave since the period in question was considered inactive duty.