Under the MLPPA, employees who are on leave for military duty receive Supplemental Compensation in daily increments of one or more days at a time, for up to 30 days in any calendar year.

• The MLPPA is a wage replacement program and not a form of protected leave of absence. For more information on protected military leave, see Military Service Leave.

You can find out more information regarding the MLPPA on the city's MLPPA webpage, including Implementation Guidance. You can also contact the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) by phone at (415) 554-4048, or by email.

Covered Employers

A covered employer (employer) under the MLPPA means a private employer with 100 or more employees globally.2 The MLPPA does not apply to: the city or County of San Francisco; any governmental entity; the San Francisco International Airport; or private businesses located in federal enclaves, such as the Presidio, Fort Mason, and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.3

Businesses do not need to have a San Francisco worksite to be covered by this ordinance.4

All employees performing work for the employer worldwide are included to determine employee count, including owners who perform work for compensation. If the employee number fluctuates above and below 100 over the course of a year, employers should calculate business size based on the average number of employees per pay period during the preceding calendar year.5

When a worker is supplied by a staffing agency, the business that employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of the worker is responsible for providing the Supplemental Compensation.6

Covered Employees

A covered employee (employee) under the MLPPA is an employee who:7

• Works within the geographic boundaries of San Francisco;
• Serves as a member of the reserve corps of the United States Armed Forces, National Guard, or other uniformed service organization of the United States; and
• Is called for "military duty," which means active military service in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, international terrorism, the conflict in Iraq, or related extraordinary circumstances, or military service to provide medical or logistical support to federal, state, or local government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, or engagement in military duty ordered for the purposes of military training, drills, encampment, naval cruises, special exercises, Emergency State Active Duty, or similar activity.8

This benefit is available to full-time, part-time, and temporary employees who are qualified military reservists.9

The MLPPA does not apply to employees covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement if the ordinance requirements are explicitly waived in clear and unambiguous terms.10

Amount of Supplemental Compensation and Payment

Supplemental Compensation refers to an employer's obligation to pay an employee's partial salary while they are on leave for military duty.11 The amount of Supplemental Compensation is the difference between the amount of the employee's gross military pay and the amount of gross pay the employee would have received if they worked their regular work schedule, for up to 30 days.12 This means employees would receive their total gross pay for the schedule they would have worked had they not been required to complete a military duty, excluding overtime unless overtime is part of their regular work schedule.13

"Gross Pay" Defined

An employee's "gross pay" includes the employee's wages for hours they would have worked, including overtime if they were regularly scheduled for overtime hours. If an employee does not work a regular schedule, their regular work schedule is determined by looking at the three-monthly pay periods, six bi-weekly or semi-monthly pay periods, or 12 weekly pay periods immediately preceding the relevant period of military leave, excluding time that an employee was on an unpaid or partially unpaid leave. All benefits such as health care, retirement, or profit sharing must be paid as if the employee had worked their regular schedule.14

Gross Military Pay

"Gross military pay" includes the basic pay rate, which can be found either on the federal Armed Forces website at www.dfas.mil or the employee's written military orders.15

Gross military pay does not include any military pay allowances, such as combat, clothing, housing, or aviation.16

Example Calculation

If the amount you would have paid the employee to work their regular work schedule is $1,000 per week, but the employee's gross military pay is only $750 per week, you would pay the employee the difference of $250 for the week, for up to 30 days of military leave.

Offset

The amount of Supplemental Compensation is offset by amounts required to be paid pursuant to any other law or policy of the employer for military leave.17 The employee should not receive more compensation than they would have received had they worked their regular work schedule.18

Notice by Employee and Documentation

Employers may require reasonable advance notice if the need for military duty is foreseeable, such as prescheduled training.19

You may request an employee provide documentation to verify their military pay, including:20

• The employee's written military orders;
• Wage statement verifying the gross military pay paid to the employee during leave for military duty.

Employers are prohibited from requiring, as a condition of an employee receiving Supplemental Compensation, that the employee search for or find a replacement worker to cover the hours during which the employee is on leave for military duty.

Failure to Return To Work After Military Duty

If the employee is fit for employment upon release from military duty but did not return to their position within 60 days of release from military duty, the employer may treat the Supplemental Compensation as a loan payable with interest. The interest will be at a rate that is equal to the minimum amount necessary to avoid imputed income under the Internal Revenue Service Code of 1986, and any successor law. If the Supplemental Compensation is treated as a loan for an employee's failure to return to their position, interest will begin to accrue 90 days after their release from military duty or return to fitness for employment, whichever is later. This loan will be payable in equal monthly installments over a period of time not to exceed five years, starting 90 days after their release from military duty or return to fitness for employment, whichever is later.21

Posting, Notice, and Recordkeeping Requirements

The MLPPA requires employers to provide notice informing employees of their rights within a reasonable time after the employee tells the employer they received written military orders and will require time off work. Notification of the MLPPA will be incorporated in OLSE's annual poster mailings.22

If you have an employee handbook that describes other leave available to employees, you must include a description of the rights to Supplemental Compensation under the MLPPA in any future employee handbook that is published after the effective date of this ordinance.23

You must maintain records documenting Supplemental Compensation, schedules and hours worked by employees and military leave taken by employees for a period of four years. You must allow the OLSE reasonable access to the required records. If you do not keep adequate records, or you do not allow the OLSE reasonable access, it will be presumed that you violated the MLPPA. You will have to offer evidence to rebut this presumption.24

Enforcement

The OLSE enforces the MLPPA. The OLSE may conduct investigations and take administrative action to enforce the MLPPA.

If the OLSE determines that an employer violated the MLPPA, the OLSE may order relief including unpaid Supplemental Compensation, interest on amounts owed, an additional amount of three times the amount of unlawfully withheld Supplemental Compensation (with a minimum of $250), and penalties of $50 to each person whose rights were violated, for each day, or part of a day, of the violation. In addition, to the remedies listed below, the OLSE may also order the employer to pay to the city a sum of up to $50 per day for each person whose rights were violated. The city may also request revocation or suspension of certificates, permits, or licenses until violations are remedied.

Aggrieved employees may not file a civil lawsuit for any violation of the ordinance without first providing the OLSE with written notice of their intent to file a lawsuit, including a statement of the grounds for the complaint. The lawsuit may not be filed if, within 90 days after service of the notice:

1. The city brings a civil action against the employer; or
2. The OLSE informs the person or entity in writing that it has found probable cause of a violation and intends to initiate administrative enforcement or that it has determined no violation occurred.

Remedies for violations of the MLPPA in civil actions may include the relief described above, plus reinstatement, back pay and attorneys' fees and costs.25

Retaliation

While the MLPPA does not expressly prohibit retaliation employers may not retaliate against any employee for taking leave for military duty pursuant to California law and the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). The U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) is authorized to investigate and resolve complaints of USERRA violations.26

1. San Francisco Labor and Employment Code (L.E.C.), Art. 15, Secs. 15.1-15.8