SICK LEAVE USE AND CREDIT EXPANDED
BY CLINTON ADMINISTRATION

Washington, D.C. -- Most federal employees soon will be able to use up to 13 days of sick leave each year to provide medical or personal care to a family member, under rules announced today by U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Jim King. In addition, employees will be allowed to use sick leave to make arrangements for or attend the funeral of a family member, or to pursue any activity related to the adoption of a child. The 13-day leave limit does not apply to adoptions.

Regulations pertaining to the use of sick leave to provide care or for bereavement purposes are consistent with the Federal Employees Family Friendly Leave Act (FFLA) signed by President Bill Clinton on October 22, 1994. The regulations take effect Friday, December 2, 1994.

The use of sick leave to pursue adoption-related activities was authorized by the 1995 Treasury-Postal Service appropriations bill and took effect September 30, 1994.

In a separate action, OPM has used its regulatory authority to permit workers who return to government service after a separation of more than three years to have previously earned sick leave re-credited to their account. Previous regulations allowed re-crediting of sick leave only when an employee's return to federal service was within three years of the separation. This regulation affects individuals who are re-employed on or after December 2, 1994.

"With the implementation of the Federal Employees Family Friendly Leave Act and other family-oriented actions, the Clinton Administration has reaffirmed its commitment to the principle of 'family-first'," said Jim King. "In the real world, family matters take priority. Accommodating employees with real family needs will lead to a less distracted, more productive work force."

In February 1993, President Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act to provide private- and public-sector employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for medical and family emergencies. The Family and Medical Leave Act helps set a balance between the competing needs of the workplace and the family.

The FFLA extends the family-friendly concept by letting federal employees use sick leave to provide care to a family member as a result of physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy, or childbirth, or to accompany family members to medical, dental or optical examinations or treatments. The law defines family members as spouses and their parents; children; parents; siblings and their spouses; and any individual related by blood or affinity whose relationship to the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.

FFLA guarantees full-time employees the use of five days of sick leave each year to care for family members or for bereavement purposes. Employees wishing to use more than five days (40 hours), but not more than 13 days of sick leave, must maintain a sick leave account balance of at least 80 hours. This requirement ensures that a reasonable amount of sick leave is available to employees for personal illness.

Part-time employees are covered by the regulation, but their sick-leave benefit is pro-rated. For instance, a part-time employee who works 20 hours a week could use up to six and one-half days (half of the 13 days available to full-time employees) under FFLA, while being required to have at least 40 hours of sick leave available for personal use.

The adoption language in the appropriations bill includes a retroactive provision that lets employees substitute sick leave for annual leave used for adoption purposes between September 30, 1991, and September 30, 1994.

Regulations on each of these actions will appear in the Friday, December 2 Federal Register.

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