Indiana — Leave Laws

Indiana has not enacted a state-funded paid family and medical leave program. Employees in Indiana rely on the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for qualifying family and medical reasons. Indiana state employees follow the federal FMLA framework administered through the Indiana State Personnel Department.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor — Family and Medical Leave Act | Indiana State Personnel Department — Family & Medical Leave

Indiana law prohibits employers from subjecting employees to adverse employment action because the employee received a jury summons, responded to a summons, or served on a jury. Violations constitute a Class B misdemeanor. Employers must provide unpaid leave for the duration of jury service; no state law requires paid leave.

Statutory protection against adverse employment action (Ind. Code § 33-28-5-24.3). If an employee (1) is summoned to serve as a juror, and (2) notifies the employer of the jury summons within a reasonable period after receiving the summons and before appearing for jury service, the employer may not subject the employee to any adverse employment action as the result of the employee's jury service. "Adverse employment action" includes discharge, demotion, discipline, loss of benefits, threats of discharge or other adverse action, or any other retaliatory measure taken because the employee received or responded to a summons, served as a juror, or attended court for prospective jury service.

Prohibition on forced use of paid leave (Ind. Code § 33-28-5-24.3(b)). An employee may not be required or requested to use annual leave, vacation leave, or sick leave for time spent (1) responding to a summons for jury service, (2) participating in the jury selection process, or (3) serving on a jury. This prohibition does not require an employer to provide annual vacation or sick leave to an employee who is not otherwise entitled to these benefits. The statute protects the employee's discretion to preserve accrued paid time off rather than applying it to jury-service absences at the employer's direction.

Small employer exception (Ind. Code § 33-28-5-24.3(c)). If (1) a prospective juror works for an employer with not more than ten (10) full-time employees (or their equivalent), (2) another employee of that employer is performing jury service, and (3) the prospective juror or the person performing jury service notifies the court that they both work for the same employer, the court shall reschedule the prospective juror's jury service for a date that does not overlap with the jury service of the other employee. This provision prevents undue hardship on very small employers when simultaneous service would leave the business understaffed. The protection operates through court rescheduling; employers do not invoke it directly, but employees may notify the court of the overlap.

Criminal penalty for employer interference (Ind. Code § 35-44.1-2-11). A person who knowingly or intentionally (1) dismisses an employee, (2) deprives an employee of employment benefits, or (3) threatens such dismissal or deprivation, because the employee has received or responded to a summons, served as a juror, or attended court for prospective jury service, commits interference with jury service, a Class B misdemeanor. Under Indiana's criminal sentencing framework, a Class B misdemeanor is punishable by up to 180 days' imprisonment and a fine of up to $1,000. The criminal penalty applies to natural persons (individual managers or business owners) who take the prohibited action; corporate employers are subject to the anti-retaliation prohibition under § 33-28-5-24.3 and may face civil liability for wrongful termination or breach of the statutory duty.

No requirement for paid leave. Indiana statutes do not require employers to pay employees for time spent on jury service. The leave is unpaid unless the employee elects to use accrued paid time off (which the employer may not compel) or the employer voluntarily maintains the employee's pay during service.

Coordination with federal law. The federal Jury Systems Improvement Act (28 U.S.C. § 1875) prohibits discharge, intimidation, or coercion of permanent employees by reason of federal jury service. Indiana's statute (IC 33-28-5-24.3) applies to both state and federal jury service within Indiana and provides parallel protection. Employees summoned for federal jury duty in Indiana district courts enjoy protection under both the federal statute and Indiana Code § 33-28-5-24.3.

Source: Ind. Code § 33-28-5-24.3 (adverse employment action as the result of jury service) Source: Ind. Code § 35-44.1-2-11 (interference with jury service — criminal penalty)

Indiana law provides paid leave for bone marrow and organ donation, but the statutory entitlement applies only to state employees of the executive branch. Private-sector employers and local government employers in Indiana have no statutory obligation to provide donor leave.

Bone marrow donation leave (Ind. Code § 4-15-16-7). A state employee may request up to five (5) work days of paid leave to serve as a bone marrow donor. The leave is granted upon verification by the attending physician that the employee will serve as a donor. The state agency must grant the leave during the period determined by the attending physician.

Organ donation leave (Ind. Code § 4-15-16-8). A state employee may request up to thirty (30) work days of paid leave to serve as a human organ donor. The leave is granted upon verification by the attending physician, and the agency grants the leave for the duration determined by the physician, not to exceed 30 work days.

Scope limitation. Indiana Code Title 4, Article 15 governs state personnel administration. The bone marrow and organ donation leave provisions in Chapter 16 of that article apply exclusively to employees of Indiana state agencies. No parallel Indiana statute extends this benefit to private employers or to employees of counties, municipalities, school corporations, or other local units of government. Private employers in Indiana may voluntarily offer donor leave as a benefit, but state law does not compel it.

Federal employees. Federal employees working in Indiana are covered by the federal organ and bone marrow donor leave statute, 5 U.S.C. § 6327, which provides up to 30 days of paid leave for organ donation and up to 7 days for bone marrow donation. That federal entitlement is independent of Indiana state law.

For practitioners advising private-sector Indiana employers, the absence of a state-law mandate means donor leave is a matter of employer policy. Multi-state employers should confirm whether employees working in Indiana but employed by entities in states with broader donor-leave statutes (such as Illinois, which covers private employers with 15+ employees under 820 ILCS 149) may have coverage under the other state's law depending on work location and choice-of-law rules.

Source: Ind. Code § 4-15-16-7 (bone marrow donation leave) Source: Ind. Code § 4-15-16-8 (organ donation leave)

Indiana Code § 22-2-20, enacted by Senate Enrolled Act 409 in April 2025 and effective July 1, 2025, prohibits employers from taking adverse employment action against an employee who is absent from work to attend either (1) an attendance conference concerning the employee's child under IC 20-33-2.5 (a school conference addressing chronic absenteeism or truancy), or (2) a case conference committee meeting under IC 20-35-9-3 (an IEP or special-education eligibility meeting for a child with disabilities). The statute applies to all Indiana employers—private businesses, state agencies, and local governments—and covers all employees regardless of tenure, hours worked, or employer size.

Covered children and meetings. The leave applies to an employee's biological, adopted, foster, or stepchild. The two protected meeting types are:

• Attendance conference (IC 20-33-2.5): A conference held by the school to address a student's excessive absences under Indiana's chronic-absenteeism and truancy-prevention framework.
• Case conference committee meeting (IC 20-35-9-3): A meeting to determine a student's eligibility for special education and related services, develop or revise an Individualized Education Program (IEP), or determine an appropriate educational placement for a student with disabilities.

One meeting per calendar year. An employee is entitled to protection for one qualifying conference or meeting per calendar year. If the employee attends more than one such meeting in a calendar year, the employer may take adverse action for subsequent absences without violating the statute.

Five-day advance notice. The employee must provide the employer with at least five calendar days' advance notice of the meeting. Failure to provide this notice removes the statutory protection.

Duration limited to reasonably necessary time. The absence must be limited to the time reasonably necessary to attend the conference or meeting, including reasonable travel time to and from the school. An absence exceeding what is reasonably necessary is not protected.

Reasonable effort to schedule virtual meeting. The employee must make a reasonable effort to schedule the conference or meeting as a virtual (electronic) meeting. This requirement does not eliminate the entitlement if the school declines or does not offer virtual attendance, but employees are expected to request a virtual option when feasible.

Documentation. An employer may require the employee to provide documentation that the employee attended the conference or meeting. Either the employee or the employer may request such documentation from the school.

Unpaid leave. IC 22-2-20 does not require employers to pay employees for time taken under this entitlement. The leave is job-protected and unpaid unless the employee elects to use accrued paid time off (vacation, personal leave, or compensatory time).

Prohibition on adverse action. Employers may not discharge, discipline, threaten, demote, or otherwise take adverse employment action against an employee for an absence that complies with the statute's notice, frequency, duration, and virtual-effort requirements. Retaliation for a protected absence violates IC 22-2-20.

Enforcement and remedies. Indiana Code § 22-2-20 does not specify a private right of action, administrative enforcement mechanism, or statutory penalty for employer violations. The statute prohibits adverse employment action but is silent on remedies. Employees who suffer retaliation for taking protected school conference leave may pursue relief under Indiana common-law wrongful termination principles (for at-will employees terminated in violation of a clear public policy expressed in statute), breach of contract (for employees with written employment agreements), or potentially under Indiana's general civil-rights enforcement framework if the retaliation also implicates a protected characteristic. The absence of an express statutory remedy distinguishes IC 22-2-20 from other Indiana leave statutes that include explicit enforcement provisions—for example, the Military Family Leave Act (IC 22-2-13-15, -16) authorizes employees to bring civil actions and obtain injunctions and equitable relief. Practitioners advising employees who have been disciplined or discharged for taking protected school conference leave should evaluate whether the employee has other grounds for relief beyond the bare statutory prohibition.

Sunset provision. Senate Enrolled Act 409 includes a sunset clause: IC 22-2-20 expires July 1, 2029, unless the Indiana General Assembly extends it before that date.

FMLA overlap. Indiana employees may also have federal leave rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) if the child has a serious health condition qualifying under 29 U.S.C. § 2612(a)(1)(C) and the employee meets FMLA eligibility requirements (works for a covered employer with 50+ employees within 75 miles, has at least 12 months of service, and worked at least 1,250 hours in the prior 12 months). A 2019 U.S. Department of Labor opinion letter stated that attending an IEP meeting or similar special-education conference under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act can qualify as caring for a child with a serious health condition if clinical providers participate and the meeting is necessary to arrange appropriate physical or psychological care. IC 22-2-20 provides broader coverage than FMLA—no serious-health-condition requirement, no employer-size or hours threshold, and no minimum service period—but is limited to one meeting per year and does not require paid leave.

Source: S.B. 409, 124th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ind. 2025)

Indiana's Military Family Leave Act (Ind. Code § 22-2-13) provides up to 10 workdays per calendar year of unpaid, job-protected leave for eligible employees whose family members are called to active duty in the U.S. armed forces or the Indiana National Guard. The statute became effective July 1, 2007.

Employer size threshold (Ind. Code § 22-2-13-1). The Act applies to all Indiana employers—private businesses, state agencies, and political subdivisions—that employ at least 50 employees for each working day during at least 20 calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year. This threshold mirrors the federal FMLA employer-coverage test.

Employee eligibility (Ind. Code § 22-2-13-11(a)). An employee qualifies for military family leave if the employee meets all three requirements:

1. At least 12 months of service with the employer (need not be consecutive).
2. At least 1,500 hours worked during the 12-month period immediately preceding the day the leave begins.
3. Covered family relationship to a person ordered to active duty (see below).

Covered family relationships (Ind. Code §§ 22-2-13-2.5, -5, -9, -10). An employee is entitled to leave for each family member on active duty if the employee is the family member's:

• Spouse
• Parent (biological, adoptive, court-appointed guardian or custodian, foster, or step)
• Grandparent (biological, adoptive, foster, or step)
• Child (biological, adopted, foster, or step)
• Sibling (biological, adoptive, foster, or step)

Active duty definition (Ind. Code § 22-2-13-7). "Active duty" means full-time service on active duty orders in the U.S. armed forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, or Merchant Marine active or reserve components) or the Indiana Army National Guard or Indiana Air National Guard for a period that exceeds 89 consecutive calendar days. Deployments of 89 days or fewer do not trigger statutory leave rights under this chapter.

Leave duration and timing (Ind. Code § 22-2-13-11(b)–(c)). An eligible employee may take up to a total of 10 workdays per calendar year. The leave may be taken during one or more of the following periods:

1. During the 30 days before active duty orders are in effect.
2. During a period in which the service member ordered to active duty is on leave while active duty orders are in effect (i.e., the service member's mid-deployment leave).
3. During the 30 days after the active duty orders are terminated.

The employee may split the 10 days across these periods or use all 10 days in a single block. An employee is entitled to a separate 10-day allotment for each family member on active duty, so if two siblings deploy simultaneously, the employee may take 10 days for each sibling.

Notice and verification (Ind. Code § 22-2-13-12). The employee must provide written notice to the employer of the date the leave will begin, including a copy of the active duty orders if available. The employee must give at least 30 days' advance notice unless the active duty orders are issued less than 30 days before the requested leave start date. Employers may require verification of the employee's eligibility for leave; if the employee fails to provide required verification, the employer may treat the absence as unexcused.

Use of paid leave (Ind. Code § 22-2-13-11(d)). Military family leave is unpaid. However, the employee may elect—or the employer may require the employee—to substitute any accrued paid vacation, personal leave, or other paid leave (except paid medical or sick leave) for any part of the 10-day period. Days of paid leave substituted in this manner count toward the 10-day statutory total.

Health benefits continuation (Ind. Code § 22-2-13-14). An employer must permit an employee taking military family leave to continue the employee's health care benefits (medical, prescription drug, vision, medical savings accounts, or other health-related coverage) at the employee's expense during the leave period.

Reinstatement and job protection (Ind. Code § 22-2-13-13). Upon return from military family leave, an employee is entitled to be restored to the same or an equivalent position. The employer may defeat reinstatement only by proving that the reason for not restoring the employee is unrelated to the employee's exercise of rights under the Act.

Employer interference prohibited; enforcement (Ind. Code §§ 22-2-13-15, -16). Employers may not interfere with, restrain, or deny any right provided by the Act. Employees may bring a civil action in circuit court to enforce the statute; courts may issue injunctions and order equitable relief to redress violations.

Federal FMLA overlay. Indiana employees covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (29 U.S.C. § 2612) may also have federal military-family leave rights under the "qualifying exigency" provisions (up to 12 weeks of leave for specified exigencies arising from a covered military member's active duty or call to active duty in support of a contingency operation). Indiana's 10-day statute provides a state-law floor for smaller employers (those with 50+ employees but not meeting FMLA's other coverage criteria) and uses a lower hours threshold (1,500 vs. FMLA's 1,250) and broader family relationships (grandparents and siblings are covered under Indiana law but not under federal FMLA qualifying-exigency leave). Employees entitled to both may use the most favorable provisions of each law.

Source: Ind. Code Title 22, Art. 2, Ch. 13 (Military Family Leave)

Indiana law prohibits employers from disciplining employees who are volunteer firefighters or volunteer members of emergency medical services (EMS) associations when they respond to emergency calls during work hours, subject to specific notice, authorization, and documentation requirements. The protection varies by employer type: state employees are covered under Ind. Code § 4-15-10-7, political subdivision employees under § 36-8-12-10.5, and private-sector employees under § 36-8-12-10.7. The statutes use parallel frameworks with minor variations.

Covered employees and required notice. The protections apply to employees who are (1) volunteer firefighters under Ind. Code § 36-8-12-2 or volunteer members of an emergency medical services association, and (2) have notified their employer (or immediate supervisor for state employees) in writing that they hold this volunteer status. The written notification is a prerequisite to protection. For private employers, a "volunteer member" means a volunteer member of an emergency medical services association organized to provide emergency medical services.

Protected absences — before-shift emergencies. An employer may not discipline an employee for being absent from employment by reason of responding to a fire or emergency call that was received before the time that the employee was to report to employment. This provision protects employees who are late to work or miss a shift entirely because they were responding to an emergency call that came in before their scheduled start time.

Protected absences — during-shift emergencies with supervisor authorization. An employer may not discipline an employee for leaving the employee's duty station to respond to a fire or emergency call if the employee has secured authorization from the employee's supervisor to leave the duty station in response to a fire or emergency call received after the employee has reported to work. This protection applies only when the employee obtains permission before leaving. For state employees, the authorization must come from the "immediate supervisor." Private and political subdivision employers have discretion to grant or deny mid-shift departure requests; the statute does not compel release, only non-discipline for approved absences.

Protected absences — injury recovery. Under the private-employer and political-subdivision statutes (§§ 36-8-12-10.7 and 10.5), an employer may not discipline an employee for being absent from work for a period not exceeding six (6) months from the date of an injury sustained while engaged in emergency firefighting or other emergency response activity. This injury-recovery protection applies only to injuries occurring during the employee's volunteer emergency response duties. The state-employee statute (§ 4-15-10-7) addresses injury leave separately by requiring the Indiana State Personnel Department to administer such absences in a manner consistent with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.), as amended and in effect on January 1, 2009.

Employer verification rights. Employers may require employees who have been absent under these provisions to present:

• A written statement from the fire chief or other officer in charge of the volunteer fire department, or the officer in charge of the emergency medical services association, indicating that the employee was engaged in emergency firefighting or emergency activity at the time of the absence or injury.
• For injury-related absences, evidence from a physician or other medical authority showing (a) treatment for the injury at the time of the absence, and (b) a connection between the injury and the employee's emergency firefighting or other emergency response activities.

Medical information obtained under these verification provisions must be retained in a separate medical file for the employee, to the extent required by federal or state law.

Essential-employee exception (private employers only). Ind. Code § 36-8-12-10.7(c) permits private employers to reject an employee's written volunteer-firefighter or volunteer-member notification on the grounds that the employee is an essential employee to the employer. If the employer rejects the notification on this basis, the anti-discipline protections of subsection (b) do not apply to that employee. The employer must provide a written statement of the rejection to the employee. The statute does not define "essential employee"; employers exercise discretion in determining which positions qualify. State-employee and political-subdivision statutes do not include this essential-employee carve-out.

No compensation requirement. None of the three statutes require employers to pay employees for time spent responding to emergency calls. The leave is unpaid unless the employee elects to use accrued paid time off or the employer voluntarily pays.

Coordination with other leave laws. For state employees, injury-related absences must be administered consistently with FMLA. Employees eligible for FMLA (those who meet the employer-coverage, tenure, and hours-worked thresholds) may have overlapping entitlements. Indiana's emergency-responder leave protections do not depend on FMLA eligibility and therefore cover employees who work for smaller employers or have not met FMLA's 12-month service or 1,250-hour requirements.

Source: Ind. Code § 4-15-10-7 (state employees — volunteer firefighting activity) Source: Ind. Code § 36-8-12-10.5 (political subdivision employees — volunteer firefighting activity) Source: Ind. Code § 36-8-12-10.7 (private employers — volunteer firefighting or volunteer member activity)

Indiana provides paid adoption leave for state employees through the New Parent Leave (NPL) policy administered by the Indiana State Personnel Department. The benefit is limited to executive-branch state employees; private employers and local government employers in Indiana have no statutory obligation to provide paid adoption leave.

Eligibility. State employees are eligible for NPL if they have at least six consecutive months of employment in state service (without a break in service) as of the date of the child's placement for adoption. Employees with shorter tenure are ineligible for the paid benefit but may qualify for unpaid federal FMLA leave if they meet FMLA's separate requirements (12 months of service and 1,250 hours worked in the prior 12 months).

Duration — 150 hours for full-time employees, 75 hours for part-time employees. Full-time state employees receive 150 hours (approximately four weeks at 37.5 hours/week) of paid NPL upon placement of a child for adoption. Part-time state employees receive 75 hours. Full-time or part-time status is determined at the time of the NPL request and does not change for that child or calendar year once approved. The 150-hour (or 75-hour) annual limit applies regardless of the number of adoptions, births, or foster placements in that calendar year. An employee cannot use more than the annual allotment for the same child even if the six-month usage window crosses into a new calendar year.

Timing and usage. NPL must be used within the first six months after the date of the child's placement for adoption. Employees may use the hours continuously (in a single block) or intermittently (spread across multiple periods) during the six-month window. The leave is intended for bonding with the newly adopted child and attending appointments or other matters required during the adoption process; it is not limited to medical necessity.

Documentation requirement. Employees must submit a request for NPL through the state's personnel system (PeopleSoft Self Service or equivalent timekeeping system) and upload legal documentation supporting the adoption or foster care placement. The employer may require verification of the placement and the employee's eligibility before approving the leave.

Relationship to federal FMLA. NPL runs concurrently with federal FMLA leave for state employees who are eligible for both. An eligible state employee who takes 150 hours of paid NPL is simultaneously using 150 hours of the employee's annual FMLA entitlement (FMLA provides up to 12 weeks—480 hours—of job-protected leave per fiscal year for qualifying events). If the employee needs additional bonding time beyond the NPL period, the employee may continue on unpaid FMLA leave for the remainder of the 12-week FMLA period. Employees who are not FMLA-eligible (for example, those with fewer than 12 months of state service or fewer than 1,250 hours worked in the prior year) receive NPL as a standalone paid benefit with no federal FMLA overlay.

Scope limitation — state employees only. The NPL policy is set by the Indiana State Personnel Department and applies exclusively to executive-branch state employees. No Indiana statute requires private employers or local government employers (counties, municipalities, school corporations) to provide paid adoption leave. Private employers may voluntarily offer such leave as a benefit, but Indiana law does not mandate it. Adoptive parents employed outside state government must rely on unpaid federal FMLA leave (if eligible under FMLA's employer-size and employee-tenure requirements) or employer-provided benefits.

For practitioners advising private-sector or local-government employers in Indiana, the absence of a state-law paid-adoption-leave mandate means such leave is a matter of employer policy. The federal FMLA remains the statutory floor: eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave within the first 12 months following the child's placement for adoption, for purposes of bonding and attending to placement-related matters.

Source: Indiana State Personnel Department — New Parent Leave Source: Indiana State Personnel Department — Additions to Your Family

Indiana law provides up to 15 days of leave per calendar year for employees who are members of the Indiana National Guard or a reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces and are called for temporary military training. Two parallel statutes govern this entitlement: Ind. Code § 10-17-4-4 applies to all employees (private-sector, state, and local government), while Ind. Code § 10-16-7-5 provides paid leave specifically for government employees (state, county, township, municipal, and school corporation officers and employees). For private-sector employees and for government employees when the employer chooses, the leave may be granted with or without pay at the employer's discretion.

Covered employees and qualifying service (IC 10-17-4-4). A person who, as a reserve member of the armed forces of the United States, is called upon to receive temporary military training is entitled to a temporary leave of absence from the employer not to exceed fifteen (15) days per calendar year. The statute does not define "temporary military training." The statute does not specify an employer-size threshold, a minimum tenure requirement, or a minimum-hours-worked test; the plain text covers all employees who are reserve members called for training.

The 15-day entitlement applies per calendar year. The statute does not address whether unused days carry over to the next year or whether an employee may accumulate leave; the text imposes a 15-day annual cap without provision for rollover.

Enhanced entitlement for government employees (IC 10-16-7-5). Officers and employees of the state, counties, townships, municipalities, and school corporations in Indiana who are (1) members of the Indiana National Guard, (2) members of a reserve component, or (3) members of the retired personnel of the naval, air, or ground forces of the United States, are entitled to receive from their employer a leave of absence from their duties in addition to their regular vacation period without loss of time or pay for the time that the member is (a) on training duties of the state under the order of the governor as commander in chief, or (b) a member of any reserve component under the order of the reserve component authority, for any consecutive or nonconsecutive period that does not exceed a total of fifteen (15) days. Government employees under this section receive full civilian pay during the leave; private employers under IC 10-17-4-4 may grant the leave "with or without pay, within the discretion of the employer" (IC 10-17-4-4(c)).

State active duty for Indiana National Guard members (IC 10-16-7-6). A member of the Indiana National Guard is entitled to receive from the member's employer a leave of absence for the total number of days that the member is on state active duty (for example, called by the governor under IC 10-16-7-7 in response to war, invasion, insurrection, public disaster, or breach of the peace). That leave is in addition to the member's regular vacation period; the leave may be with or without loss of time or pay at the discretion of the employer. IC 10-16-7-6 does not impose a 15-day cap; a National Guard member on state active duty for 45 days is entitled to 45 days of leave, paid or unpaid at the employer's choice.

Notice and documentation requirements (IC 10-17-4-4). An employee taking leave under IC 10-17-4-4 shall:

1. Provide the employer with evidence of the dates of the person's departure and return as soon as practicable before the person's departure.

1. Furnish the employer, upon the person's return, evidence of the person's satisfactory completion of the training.

The statute does not specify the form of evidence required, the minimum number of days' advance notice, or the consequences of noncompliance. The text requires notice "as soon as practicable," which leaves the timing fact-specific; an employee receiving orders 60 days in advance should notify the employer promptly, while an employee receiving emergency orders within a few days must notify within that shorter window.

Reinstatement and job protection (IC 10-17-4-4). Upon the person's return, the person shall be restored to the person's previous or similar position, with the same status that the person held before leaving for the person's training period. The statute does not define "same status" or specify whether seniority, benefits, eligibility for bonuses, or other incidents of employment continue to accrue during the leave period. The statutory text guarantees restoration to the previous or a similar position with the same status; it does not enumerate exceptions for changed business circumstances or employer hardship.

Pay (IC 10-17-4-4(c)). A leave granted under IC 10-17-4-4 may be granted, with or without pay, within the discretion of the employer. The statute does not require employers to pay employees for time spent on military training leave. The statute does not address whether an employer may require an employee to use accrued paid leave (vacation, personal leave, sick leave, or compensatory time) to cover the absence, whether the leave period counts toward the calculation of benefits or bonuses, or whether taking unpaid military leave affects an employee's accrual of seniority or vacation time.

Criminal penalty for employer interference with National Guard duties (IC 10-16-7-4). An employer who knowingly or intentionally refuses to allow a member of the Indiana national guard to attend any assembly at which the member has a duty to perform under Indiana's National Guard training and active-duty statutes commits a Class B misdemeanor. Under Indiana's criminal sentencing framework (IC 35-50-3-3), a Class B misdemeanor is punishable by up to 180 days' imprisonment and a fine of up to $1,000. The criminal penalty applies to natural persons (individual managers or business owners who refuse to grant the leave). The statute does not specify a private civil right of action or damages remedy for employees whose employers violate IC 10-17-4-4 or IC 10-16-7-5; employees denied leave or reinstatement may pursue common-law wrongful-termination claims (if terminated in violation of a clear public policy expressed in statute) or breach-of-contract claims (for employees with written employment agreements), but those remedies are not enumerated in the military-leave statutes themselves.

Coordination with federal USERRA. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (38 U.S.C. §§ 4301–4335) provides federal protections for employees performing military service, including reinstatement rights, advance-notice requirements, anti-discrimination provisions, and health-plan continuation. USERRA applies when an employee performs any qualifying uniformed service, including weekend drills and the annual training covered by Indiana's statutes. Indiana Code §§ 10-17-4-4, 10-16-7-5, and 10-16-7-6 operate concurrently with USERRA. An employee covered by both may invoke the most favorable provisions of each law. For example, USERRA requires advance notice of military service (oral or written, unless precluded by military necessity) and provides escalating reinstatement-position rules depending on the length of service (same position for absences under 91 days; same or similar position with equivalent seniority, status, and pay for longer absences, subject to employer defenses). Indiana's statutes do not include USERRA's employer-size threshold (USERRA covers employers with one or more employees), service-length limits (USERRA protects cumulative service up to five years with enumerated exceptions), or detailed employer defenses (undue hardship, changed circumstances making reemployment impossible or unreasonable). Practitioners advising Indiana employers on military-leave compliance should analyze both the Indiana statutes and USERRA to determine which obligations apply.

Source: Ind. Code § 10-17-4-4 (Reserve member of armed forces — leave for temporary military training; restoration; compensation) Source: Ind. Code § 10-16-7-5 (Government employees — leave for training or active duty) Source: Ind. Code § 10-16-7-6 (Indiana National Guard — leave while on state active duty) Source: Ind. Code § 10-16-7-4 (Employer refusal to allow National Guard attendance — criminal penalty)