A1: A payment made to eligible Federal civilian employees who are members of the Reserve or National Guard during periods when they are called or ordered to active duty under certain specified provisions of law. The payment is equal to the amount by which an employee's projected civilian "basic pay" for a covered pay period exceeds the employee's actual military "pay and allowances" allocable to that pay period. (See Section I of the OPM Policy Guidance.)

A2: The first pay period beginning on or after March 11, 2009 (i.e., March 15, 2009, for executive branch employees on the standard biweekly payroll cycle). (See Section I in the OPM Policy Guidance.)

A3: Yes. Payments for eligible employees must be made retroactive to the effective date of the law (the first pay period beginning on or after March 11, 2009) for qualifying periods of active duty service.

A1: Based on the eligibility requirements in Section II in the OPM Policy Guidance. You must provide your agency with a copy of your military orders to active duty.

A2: Not typically. Eligibility is based on the authority in which the call to active duty is ordered. See Appendix D in the OPM Policy Guidance for qualifying authorities.

A1: Qualifying active duty means active duty by a covered employee pursuant to a call or order, as described in 5 U.S.C. 5538(a). (See Part 1 of Appendix D in the OPM Policy Guidance.) (Note: Under section 5538(a), active duty that qualifies for coverage under section 5538 is active duty under a provision of law referred to in 10 U.S.C. 101(a)(13)(B)-i.e., the following specific provisions in title 10 of the United States Code: sections 688, 12301(a), 12302, 12304, 12305, and 12406 and chapter 15 (which includes sections 331, 332, and 333). Thus, qualifying active duty does not include voluntary active duty under 10 U.S.C. 12301(d) or annual training duty under 10 U.S.C. 10147 or 12301(b).)

A2: If the orders do not cite a specific authority, direct the employees back to their reserve unit to ask for orders that clearly state the authority code. Employees should also contact their reserve unit with any questions related to the authority code.

A3: Employees should contact their human resources office.

A4: Agencies can use the final military leave and earnings statement (LES) provided by the employee to determine the last paid day of military active duty. The dates covered by the LES are documented in the "Remarks" section of the LES. The final active duty date can be confirmed by the DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty). Please be advised, the DD-214 is to be considered the authoritative document should there be any discrepancy between the final LES and the DD-214. Since reservists may not receive their DD-214 for several months after their tour has ended, it is possible (but not likely) that retroactive adjustments to the final active duty date may be made should there be any discrepancies regarding that date.

A1: The reservist differential has no effect on the computation of the military deposit. Military deposit calculations will be determined using military deposit rules prescribed by law. Upon return to civilian service following military duty, employees should apply to make a military service credit deposit through their human resources/benefits office using the designated deposit form (Standard Form 2803 (SF) for CSRS and SF 3108 for FERS). See forms at https://www.opm.gov/forms/html/sf.asp. To avoid interest accrual, military service credit deposits should be completed as soon as possible. NOTE: Special deposit rules are applicable to employees absent under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). Employees should ask their human resources office to help determine if their absences were under USERRA and to help estimate their military deposits.

A2: An employee may continue to choose to use annual leave or other applicable paid leave or other paid time off, as appropriate, during a period of active duty. The reservist differential is not payable during periods of paid leave or other paid time off. (See Section IV in the OPM Policy Guidance.)

A1: See Appendix C in the OPM Policy Guidance - Civilian Basic Pay.

A2: No, LEAP is not included. OPM recognizes that there are additional payments that are considered to be basic pay for certain purposes, including law enforcement availability pay under 5 U.S.C. 5545a, availability pay for Transportation Security Administration air marshals, administratively uncontrollable overtime pay under 5 U.S.C. 5545(c)(2) received by law enforcement officers, standby duty pay under 5 U.S.C. 5545(c)(1), straight-time portion of firefighter overtime pay received by firefighters covered by 5 U.S.C. 5545b, and physicians' comparability allowances under 5 U.S.C. 5948. However, these payments are considered basic pay for a particular purpose only if expressly provided in law or regulation. There is no existing legal basis for automatically treating these payments as basic pay under the reservist differential authority in 5 U.S.C. 5538. These payments are not equivalent to locality pay or special rate supplements, which represent supplemental compensation for hours in an employee's basic work week treated as basic pay for purposes of premium pay and benefits.

A1: See Appendix D in the OPM Policy Guidance - Military Pay and Allowances, Part 2.

A2: Employees can access their LESs through their military pay account, MyPay. MyPay stores only the previous 3 months of LESs for reservists. If employees need copies of older LESs, contact MyPay customer service at 1-888-332-7411.

A1: Generally, employees must submit a copy of their military orders and copies of their military leave and earnings statements showing the amount of military pay and allowances they received during this active duty period. Employees must contact their human resources office for additional information and instructions.