Check forfeiture of pay during absence without leave
Key facts
- Human involvement
- RedLawyer-led
- How AI is used
- Record the dates of absence, the service, and whether any excuse or Secretarial determination is in the file. Do not draft the advice.
- What the lawyer must review
- 37 U.S.C. § 503(a)(1) provides that a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Coast Guard, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who is absent without leave or over leave forfeits all pay and allowances for the period of that absence, unless it is excused as unavoidable. For a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, or the Coast Guard when operating as a service in the Department of the Navy, the Secretary of Defense may determine to pay that pay and those allowances. The Secretary may not delegate that authority, and not later than 30 days after such a determination shall report it to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House. 10 U.S.C. § 886 makes it an offense for a member of the armed forces, without authority, to fail to go to the appointed place of duty, to go from that place, or to absent himself or remain absent, punishable as a court-martial may direct. Section 886 does not itself state a forfeiture of pay. You write the advice on whether the absence is excused and whether pay was forfeited.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUS
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Supporting preparation only. Limit any support to organising, indexing or comparing the source material. Confirm the tool’s capability and permitted scope. The tool writes nothing into the document. Substantive advice, judgement and any restricted content remain with the responsible human. |
| Lawyer | Perform the substantive analysis and decisions. Independently check any permitted supporting work and approve the exact output for its intended use. |
Checklist
- Open each relied-on authority independently. Confirm its existence, current status, proposition and any quotation or pinpoint reference.
- Confirm the output against the client’s instructions and the complete relevant source material, including omissions or contradictions.
- Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use.