Annual Leave
An employee may use annual leave for vacations, rest and relaxation, and
personal business or emergencies. An employee has a right to take
annual leave, subject to the right of the supervisor to schedule the time
at which annual leave may be taken. An employee will receive a lump-sum
payment for accumulated and accrued annual leave when he or she separates
from Federal service or enters on active duty in the armed forces and elects
to receive a lump-sum payment.
Accrual Rates
Creditable Service for Leave Accrual
Advance Annual Leave
Annual Leave Ceilings
Restoration of Annual Leave
Lump-sum Payments
Annual Leave to Establish
Retirement Eligibility
References
Employee Type
|
Less than 3 years of service*
|
3 years but less than 15 years of service*
|
15 or more years of service*
|
Full-time employees |
½ day (4 hours) for each pay period |
3/4 day (6 hours) for each pay period, except 1¼ day (10 hours)
in last pay period |
1 day (8 hours) for each pay period |
Part-time employees** |
1 hour of annual leave for each 20 hours in a pay status |
1 hour of annual leave for each 13 hours in a pay status |
1 hour of annual leave for each 10 hours in a pay status |
Uncommon tours of duty** |
(4 hours) times (average # of hours per biweekly pay period) divided
by 80 = biweekly accrual rate.*** |
(6 hours) times (average # of hours per biweekly pay period) divided
by 80 = biweekly accrual rate.*** |
(8 hours) times (average # of hours per biweekly pay period) divided
by 80 = biweekly accrual rate. *** |
* See Creditable Service
for Leave Accrual
** Leave is prorated for part-time employees and employees on uncommon tours
of duty.
*** In computing leave accrual for uncommon tours of duty, the accrual rate
for the last full pay period in a calendar year must be adjusted to ensure
the correct amount of leave is accrued.
Creditable Service for Leave
Accrual
Civilian Service
All civilian service that is potentially creditable for Civil Service
Retirement Service (CSRS) purposes, including service covered by the Federal
Employee Retirement Service (FERS) is also creditable for annual leave accrual. Potentially creditable service includes service that could be credited
if the employee made deposits to the retirement fund. Such deposits
are not required before the employee gets credit for annual leave accrual
purposes. (See OPM's Guide
to Processing Personnel Actions, Chapter 6 - Creditable Service for Leave
Accrual.)
Uniformed Service
- For non-retired members, full credit for uniformed service (including
active duty and active duty for training) performed under honorable conditions
is given for annual leave accrual purposes.
-
For retirees, annual leave accrual credit is given only for:
Actual service during a war declared by Congress (includes World War
II covering the period December 7, 1941, to April 28, 1952) or while
participating in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge
is authorized.
(See Vets Guide --
War Service Creditable for Veterans Preference.)
or
All active duty when retirement was based on a disability received as a direct
result of armed conflict or caused by an instrumentality of war and incurred
in the line of duty during a period of war as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(11).
"Period of war" includes World War II, the Korean conflict, Vietnam
era, the Persian Gulf War, or the period beginning on the date of any future
declaration of war by the Congress and ending on the date prescribed by Presidential
proclamation or concurrent resolution of the Congress.
Supervisors may grant advance annual leave consistent with agency policy. The amount of annual leave that may be advanced is limited to the amount of
annual leave an employee would accrue in the remainder of the leave year. Employees do not have an entitlement to advance annual leave. In most
cases, when an employee who is indebted for advance annual leave separates
from Federal service, he or she is required to refund the amount of advance
leave for which he or she is indebted.
Maximum Annual Leave That May be Carried Over
into the New Leave Year |
Federal Employees Stationed within the United States |
30 days |
Federal Employees Stationed overseas |
45 days |
Members of the Senior Executive Service |
90 days |
Any accrued annual leave in excess of the maximum allowed by law will be
forfeited. Forfeited annual leave may be restored under 5 U.S.C. 6304(d).
(See Restoration of Annual Leave.)
An employee may use annual leave to establish initial eligibility
for retirement in reduction-in-force and other restructuring situations. An employee who has received a specific notice of termination in a RIF situation
may use annual leave past the date the employee would otherwise have been
separated in order to establish initial eligibility for immediate retirement,
including discontinued service or voluntary early retirement.
5 U.S.C. chapter 63, subchapter I
5 CFR 351.606
5 CFR part 630, subparts B and C
Comptroller General opinions:
16 Comp. Gen. 481 (1936), 39 Comp. Gen. 611 (1960) --absolute right
B-189085 (04/03/78), 57 Comp. Gen.
325 (1978),
58
Comp Gen. 684 (1979)--forfeiture
B-213380 (08/20/84), B-256975 (10/11/94)--restoration
B-188993 (12/12/77), 56 Comp. Gen.
470 (1977), 60 Comp. Gen. 598
(1981),
B-221265 (06/02/86)--general information.