AUSTIN’. TEXAS 'R'S911 

June 28, 1968 

Ronorable Renry Wade Opinion No. M-250 

District Attorney Of~Dallas 

county Re: Whether under Articles 

Dallas County Government Center 1269m and 6252-4a, V.C.S., 

Dallas, Texas 75202 a city fireman, on returning from military leave 

prior to the effective 

,date of Article 6252-4a, 

is entitled to credit for 

pay purposes for the time 

Dear Mr. Wade: spent in military service. 

In your request for an opinion you state the following: 

" . . . 

"On Novembpr 1,~1965, the Fireman in 

question was employed and commenced working 

for the City as a fireman. He worked continuously from the date of his employment until 

March 16, 1967, on which last mentioned.date. 

he was granted a Military Leave of Absence to 

enter the Military Service of the United States, : 

as provided in Sec. 22a of said Art. 1269m. 

After obtaining Leave of Absence, he served 

122 days in the Military Service, Andy after 

being discharged therefrom, he duly made application for reinstatement and went back to 

work as a fireman for the City on August 1,. 

1967, where he has worked continuously to 

this date. 

"under the rules, policies ‘aa ordinances 

of the City,, firemen and policemen whose.employment extends beyond the probationary period 

of six months are automatically entitled to an 

increase in salary at the end of the first year 

of service, and to an additional increase upon 

the completion of each year of service thereafter. 

"The salary of the Fireman in question 

-. 1213 - 
Hon. Henry Wade, page 2 (~-250) 

was increased in accordance with this policy 

on November 1, 1966. After completing his 

Military Service in 1967 and rejoining the 

Department on August 1, 1967, he anticipated 

that he would receive his second anniversary 

increase on or about November 12, 1967, he 

being of the opinion that the 122 days spent 

in Military Service should be considered and 

allowed as credit in determining his next anniversary date. 

*The Civil Service Board was of a contrary opinion, and his second anniversary increase was not granted until on or about February 12, 1968. 

"Sec. 22a of said Art. 1269m entitled 

Military Leave of Absence provides in part as 

follows: 

"'Upon being returned to said position, 

such member shall receive full seniority credit 

for the time spent in the Military Service.' 

"Sec. 3 of Art. 6252-4a provides as follows: 

"'Sec. 3. Any person who is restored to 

a position in accordance herewith shall be 

considered as having been on furlough or 

leave of absence during such absence in Feaera1 or State military service, and shall be 

entitled to participation in retirement or 

other benefits to which employees of the 

State of Texas or any political subdivision, 

state institution, county or municipality 

thereof, are, or may be, entitled and shall 

not be discharged from such position without 

cause within one year after such restoration. 

"The City contends that since the Fireman in question returned to his job on August 

1, 1967, and the effective date of Art. 6252-4a 

was not until August 28, 3.967, that the provisions 

of such Statute are not available to him. 

"It is our contention that said Art. 6252-4a 

is designed to broaden the coverage to other 

State and Municipal employees which firemen and 

policemen previously had under the provisions of 

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Hon. Henry Wade, page 3 (M-250) 

Art. 1269m. In addition, said Art. 6252-4a provided a procedural remedy to enforce his rights 

through the office of the District Attorney and 

the Courts. 

"It is our further position that the Fireman in question was entitled, for pay purposes, 

to credit for the time which he spent in Military 

Service even though Art. 6252-4a had never been 

enacted. Thus, if we bs right in our opinion, 

the question is resolved to whether the term 

'full seniority credit' is broad enough to include credit for time spent in Military Service 

as it relates to longevity pay increases. The 

only other reason we can conceive.at the moment 

for such provision would be for retirement purposes, ana we believe that the Legislature in. 

using the term 'full seniority credit' had something in mind otherthan retirement. We also 

believe that as a matter of Statutory construction we may look to the provisions of Sec. 3 of 

Art. 6252-4a which speaks of 'participation in 

retirement or other benefits' in determining 

the Legislative intent." 

We agree with your liberal interpretation of these 

statutes ma your conclusions. This office, in Attorney General's 

Opinion No. C-679 (1966), in interpreting this type of statute, 

" . . . noted that the courts of this State have consistently 

construed statu,tes liberally in favor of patriotic service and 

are loath to penalize State employees who perform such services 

I . . . citing numerous past opinions of this office. It is 

the opinion of this department that a city fireman, on returning from military leave prior to the effective date of Article 

6252-4a, Vernon's Civil Statutes, is entitled to credit for pay 

purposes for the time spent in military service. Such a procedural and remedial statute is not only construed liberally but 

may be applied retroactively. 53 Tex.Jur.2d 53, Statutes, Sec. 

29. 

S U,MMARY 

Under Articles 1269m and 6252-4a, Vernon's 

Civil Statutes, a city fireman, on returning 

from military leave prior to the effective date 

of said Article 6252-4a, is entitled to credit 

for pay purposes for the time spent in military 

service. 

- 1215 - 
Bon. Henry Wade, page 4 (M-250) 

, 

General of Texas 

Prepared by Jack Sparks 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE" 

Hawthorne Phillips, Chairman 

Kerns Taylor, Co-Chairman 

Alan Minter 

James Quick 

Mark White 

Arthur Skibell 

A. J. CARUBBI, JR. 

Executive Assistant 

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