Federal employees who left their agencies to serve in the United States military, in connection with operations related to fighting international terrorism, may now have an enhanced opportunity to claim additional Paid Military Leave, thanks to recent court rulings.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Feliciano v. Department of Transportation has opened the door for federal employees, including retirees, to receive this entitlement. Those who are retired may be eligible to receive their adjusted Paid Military Leave as a lump-sum payment.
At Tully Rinckey PLLC, our attorneys have represented thousands of federal employees in recovering benefits they were wrongfully denied, including additional Paid Military Leave. With extensive experience in federal employment law and military leave protections under USERRA, we are dedicated to ensuring our clients receive the compensation they deserve.
We were service members long before we became military attorneys and are ready to serve you with a combined 200+ years of military service and law experience.
Our military lawyers travel around the globe to represent clients in addition to working by telephone and through videoconferencing. We are not intimidated by complicated matters, remote locations or difficult cases.
Our team of military lawyers is nationally recognized for winning cases against tough odds. We have a proven history of changing the military law landscape through knowledge and tenacity in all matters faced by service members.
In a pivotal ruling on April 30, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a significant victory for federal employees who serve in the military reserves. The Court determined that Nick Feliciano, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controller, was improperly denied 22 days of additional paid military leave per calendar year under 5 U.S.C. § 6323(b). This decision not only rectified Feliciano’s case but also set a precedent for thousands of other federal employees who may have been similarly deprived of their legally entitled leave.
The Court’s decision clarified several critical aspects of federal law governing military leave:
Under 5 U.S.C. § 6323(b), reserve military personnel called to active duty in support of a “contingency operation” are entitled to 22 days of paid military leave per calendar year. This leave ensures that federal employees serving their country are not penalized financially or professionally while fulfilling their military obligations.
Reservists often earn less on active duty than in their civilian federal roles. To address this disparity, Congress enacted a “differential pay” statute, which requires federal employers to compensate employees for the difference between their civilian and military pay during periods of active duty. The failure to provide this differential pay, combined with the denial of leave, violated the protections guaranteed by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
The Court reaffirmed that a contingency operation includes any operation resulting in the call to or retention on active duty of uniformed service members under federal law or during a presidentially declared national emergency. This definition ensures that reservists supporting military operations indirectly or directly are covered under the statute.
The Feliciano decision builds upon prior rulings that established the rights of federal employees to additional Paid Military Leave:
If you were called to active duty after September 11, 2001, to support military operations during the National Emergency with Respect to Certain Terrorist Attacks, you may be entitled to additional Paid Military Leave.
This ruling applies to thousands of federal employees currently serving or who have served in the Armed Forces.
Tully Rinckey PLLC is committed to helping you receive the Paid Military Leave you deserve. We have a dedicated team of attorneys who specialize in processing claims under Feliciano, O’Farrell, and Butterbaugh. Our services are offered on a contingency basis—you only pay if your claim is successful.
The form is located at the bottom of this page.
Please fill out the form in full. Once we have received your submission, a member of our Intake team will follow up with you for additional information.
Each person’s case is different. It depends on the amount of time you were on military service, whether your military service was in support of a contingency operation, as well as your grade and step in your federal position.
Please fill out the form in full. Once we have received your submission, a member of our Intake team will follow up with you for additional information.
If we are able to take your case, we would be taking on the case on a contingency basis with no up-front cost to you!
Depending on the number of cases filed it may take several months if not years for us to handle every claim. The sooner we have your information, the sooner one of our attorneys can start reviewing your case.
Federal employees can file claims with the MSPB to receive all benefits associated with the additional paid military leave that they may be entitled to for serving in military operations for a portion of each individual calendar year that the federal employee was ordered to active duty in support of contingency operations while being employed by a federal agency. If the claim is successful, employees will receive relief in one of two ways:
To start the process, complete the form below. Once you submit the form, a member of our client relations team will contact you for more information. Then, one of our attorneys assigned to Feliciano claims will follow up with you to discuss your claim and go over next steps.