Montana Strengthens Protections for Employees in Public Office

Montana has enacted legislation (House Bill 667), which adds protections for employees in public office. House Bill 667 is retroactive to Jan, 1, 2025.

The details

Background

As background, under Montana state law, employers must:

• Provide employees in public office with up to 180 days of unpaid leave per year to fulfill public service duties. Note: Employees must arrange to return to work within 10 days after completing public service leave (with limited exceptions); and
  
  
• Restore employees in public office to the positions they held before the leave (including seniority, status, compensation, hours, locality, and benefits), when an employer has 10 or more employees.
  

House Bill 667

Under House Bill 667, during an employee’s public office leave, an employer must continue to provide health care benefits to the employee, and an employer cannot:

• Require the employee to work, or use other leave or benefits without their consent;
• Prohibit the employee from using an employer-provided phone, computer or phone number when the employer allows the personal use of those items; and
• Discriminate or retaliate against the employee for seeking election or appointment to a public office or prohibit or restrict them from seeking election or appointment.

Next steps

Train supervisors on the changes under the law.