diff --git a/modules/proxy/mod_proxy.c b/modules/proxy/mod_proxy.c
index 5795d53324..a9d874929e 100644
--- a/modules/proxy/mod_proxy.c
+++ b/modules/proxy/mod_proxy.c
@@ -85,9 +85,10 @@ static const char *set_worker_param(apr_pool_t *p,
          * in error state, it will be retried after that timeout.
          */
         ival = atoi(val);
-        if (ival < 1)
-            return "Retry must be at least one second";
+        if (ival < 0)
+            return "Retry must be a positive value";
         worker->retry = apr_time_from_sec(ival);
+        worker->retry_set = 1;
     }
     else if (!strcasecmp(key, "ttl")) {
         /* Time in seconds that will destroy all the connections
diff --git a/modules/proxy/mod_proxy.h b/modules/proxy/mod_proxy.h
index 5da9b569c7..b0f742c852 100644
--- a/modules/proxy/mod_proxy.h
+++ b/modules/proxy/mod_proxy.h
@@ -296,6 +296,7 @@ typedef struct {
 struct proxy_worker {
     int             id;         /* scoreboard id */
     apr_interval_time_t retry;  /* retry interval */
+    char            retry_set;
     int             lbfactor;   /* initial load balancing factor */
     const char      *name;
     const char      *scheme;    /* scheme to use ajp|http|https */
diff --git a/modules/proxy/proxy_util.c b/modules/proxy/proxy_util.c
index f4b780d0cd..fdf926f080 100644
--- a/modules/proxy/proxy_util.c
+++ b/modules/proxy/proxy_util.c
@@ -1780,7 +1780,7 @@ PROXY_DECLARE(apr_status_t) ap_proxy_initialize_worker(proxy_worker *worker, ser
     }
 
     /* Set default parameters */
-    if (!worker->retry) {
+    if (!worker->retry_set) {
         worker->retry = apr_time_from_sec(PROXY_WORKER_DEFAULT_RETRY);
     }
     /* By default address is reusable */