The summons to active duty received in the wake of Sept. 11 by some military reservists and National Guardsmen working at Dartmouth was one of the factors that precipitated a recent revision of the College's military leave policy.
The policy provides for giving leave and eventual reinstatement in their position to employees who are called up for military duty.
The new policy, which is retroactive to Sept. 11, "provides benefits that go above and beyond federal standards" for treatment of employees called up for military service, College Human Resources Generalist David Wheel said.
Wheel, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, led the team that was responsible for developing and drafting up the revisions to the military leave policy.
One of the changes involves compensating an employee for the difference between the College's base pay and the base military pay and also provides extended health coverage credit. Wheel called this "the greatest change" to the leave policy.
He noted, however, that the extended benefits apply specifically to employees serving in the current period of military response related to Sept. 11.
The military leave policy applies to any regular employee of the College who becomes activated as a member of the military.
The former policy complied with basic federal requirements, which held that Dartmouth was required to grant military leave and reinstatement upon return. Dartmouth also continued to pay the employee for a short period of absence for military duty.
"The policy was changed primarily to conform to newer federal standards and to acknowledge and support Dartmouth College employees who are activated for military duty as a result of September 11," Wheel said.
The President's Executive Committee approved the new military leave policy on November 19.
