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NOAA Workforce Management Office
Serving NOAA's Most Valuable Asset - People
NOAA Supervisory Resource Guide
What do I need to know about Leave?
Principle: Most employees earn both annual and
sick leave, which they are entitled to use. Subject to
certain limitations, you can approve or disapprove a
request to use that leave at a particular time.
Rules and Flexibilities: Government-wide
rules require that you must approve an employee’s
sick leave request, if the employee submits acceptable
documentation of its need. You must provide an employee an
opportunity to use his or her annual leave, but if his or
her request conflicts with the work needs of the office,
you may reschedule the leave.
Types of Leave:
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.
Supervisors should consult with employees about their
vacation plans not later than March 1 of each year in order
to make up a vacation schedule which accommodates the
employees? preferences and needs of the organization. When
an employee does not take leave as scheduled, it should be
rescheduled promptly in order to avoid the risk of leave
forfeiture.
-
Use-or-Lose Annual Leave:
Generally, employees may carry 240 hours of annual
leave from one leave year to the next. Exceptions
exist for Senior Executive Service members who may
carry over 720 hours or the employee’s
personal leave ceiling, employees duty stationed
overseas who may carry over 360 hours, and
employees with a 112 or 144 hour biweekly tour of
duty who may carryover 336 or 432 hours,
respectively. Also approved recipients of the
Department’s Leave Transfer Program may carry
over an unlimited number of annual leave hours into
a new leave year.
Annual Leave balances in excess of 240 hours or the employee?s authorized ceiling is forfeited at the end of the leave year. As a matter of Federal regulation, annual leave which is not scheduled and approved, specifically and in writing, before the start of the third biweekly pay period which precedes the end of the leave year may not be restored regardless of illness or work-load which precluded the leave being used. Excess leave which is not timely scheduled may be approved for use late in the leave year as the work situation may permit; but if forfeited, there can be no consideration of restoring such leave. An employee?s failure to request the use of excess annual leave, or voluntary failure to use any excess annual leave that was approved, will be considered to be by the employee?s choice and the leave will not be restored.
In certain circumstances, an employee may be permitted to have the forfeited leave restored if it was lost because:- the leave could not be used based on an exigency of agency business,
- the employee?s illness prevented him or her from using scheduled annual leave, or
- an administrative error prevented the
employee from using his or her leave.
- It is the employee?s
responsibility to apply for the restoration of
forfeited leave and to show that it should be restored.
Approved requests for restoration of annual leave are
submitted to your servicing Workforce Management
Office for entry into the employee?s leave record
in the National Finance Center system.
More specific information on the restoration of leave can be found in the Department of Commerce, Handbook on Hours of Duty and Leave Administration.
Sick Leave: An employee may use sick leave for personal medical needs, care of a family member, or for adoption related purposes. Except in emergencies, sick leave should be requested and approved in advance.
For sick leave requests, you may request that the employee provide suitable documentation that a legitimate medical condition is involved. Normally, you may accept the employee?s certification that he or she was ill, seeking medical care, or otherwise using the sick leave for appropriate reasons. For an absence in excess of three workdays or longer, or if you suspect that the employee may be abusing sick leave, you may request the employee provide documentation from a health care provider. Because sick leave may be used to care for a sick family member, the documentation may involve the illness of the family member. If the employee fails to provide acceptable documentation to support a request for sick leave, the absence may be documented as Absence Without Official Leave. If you suspect the employee may be abusing his or her sick leave, you should contact your servicing Workforce Management Office representative.
Absence Without Official Leave (AWOL): If an employee is absent without approved leave, the absence is charged as AWOL. AWOL is not disciplinary in nature, but may be the basis for disciplinary action.
Leave Without Pay (LWOP): If an employee wishes to take leave but does not have enough to cover the requested absence, you may approve a request for Leave Without Pay (LWOP). You may approve any reasonable amount of LWOP at your discretion. As an alternative, you may also approve advance annual or sick leave. The amount of advanced sick and annual leave you may approve varies. You should check with your servicing Workforce Management Office representative for detailed guidance.
Administrative Leave: You may approve short periods of absence caused by an employee?s personal difficulties (generally of less than an hour?s duration) or because of general problems such as delays in the public transportation system. Delayed arrivals caused by hazardous weather or similar area-wide situations are generally administered on a Department-wide or Government-wide basis.
Information Resources: The information above is not all inclusive and is only intended to provide basic information on leave. Additional information can be obtained from the following:
DOC - Hours of Work
OPM Leave Administration
OPM Guidance
Page last edited: February 12, 2010
