Pay & Leave

Federal Leave Sharing Programs

Serious illness can strike employees regardless of how much annual or sick leave they have accumulated. The voluntary leave sharing program can help to ease the emotional and financial burdens felt by an employee who is seriously ill or has a family member with a medical emergency and who has exhausted all of his or her annual and sick leave. The program allows co-workers to voluntarily transfer some of their annual leave to the qualifying employee. Both donors and recipients benefit from the program because it encourages mutual assistance among fellow workers. Below are some commonly asked questions about voluntary leave sharing. For further information, contact your agency personnel office.

Q. What is Federal leave sharing?

A. On October 8, 1993, the President signed into law the Federal Employees Leave Sharing Amendments Act of 1993, which makes permanent the voluntary leave transfer and leave bank programs. Under previous legislation, the leave sharing program had operated as a 5-year
experiment and would have terminated on October 31, 1993.

Q. What is the voluntary leave transfer program?

A. The voluntary leave transfer program allows an employee to transfer annual leave to another employee who has a medical emergency in his or her family. Each Federal agency must establish procedures for voluntary leave transfer. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established guidelines for agencies to follow with regard to applications to become leave recipients, approval of applications, and transfer, accrual, and restoration of annual leave under this program. In order to be eligible to become a leave recipient, an employee must be experiencing a "medical emergency."

Q. What is a "medical emergency" under the voluntary leave transfer program?

A. A "medical emergency" is a medical condition of an employee or a family member that would most likely require a prolonged absence from work and would result in a substantial loss of income because of the unavailability of paid leave. Examples of situations which do not constitute medical emergencies include care of a newborn or adopted child, unless extenuating medical circumstances exist, and time off for elective surgery.

Q. What constitutes a "substantial loss of income?"

A. A substantial loss of income is an absence from duty without available paid leave (excluding any advanced leave) because of a medical emergency when the absence is (or is expected to be):

At least 24 hours in duration for a full-time employee, or

At least 30 percent of the average number of hours of work in the biweekly tour for a part-time employee or an employee with an uncommon tour of duty.

A leave recipient must use accrued annual leave and sick leave, as applicable, before using donated leave. (Note that beginning June 20, 2000, an eligible employee may use up to 60 days of sick leave to care for a family member with a serious medical condition. If the medical emergency involves a family member, the leave recipient must use his or her 60 days of sick leave (as appropriate) for family care and bereavement before using donated leave.

Q. When does a "medical emergency" end?

A. A medical emergency ends when the leave recipient leaves the Federal Service; when the
employing agency receives written notice from the leave recipient that he or she is no longer affected by a medical emergency; when the employing agency determines, after written notice and opportunity for the leave recipient to reply, that the medical emergency has ended; or when the Office of Personnel Management has approved an application for disability retirement for the leave recipient.

It is the agency's responsibility to monitor the status of the medical emergency affecting the leave recipient to ensure that he or she continues to be affected. After the emergency ends, any unused transferred annual leave remaining must be restored to the leave donors. Unused leave contributed to an employee under the leave bank program remains in the leave bank; it is not restored to the contributor.

Q. Under the voluntary leave transfer program, can transferred annual leave be substituted to cover periods of leave without pay and/or an indebtedness for advanced annual or sick leave?

A. Transferred annual leave may be substituted retroactively to the approved beginning date of the medical emergency. Agencies control when an employee may submit an application to become a leave recipient for a medical emergency that has terminated. For example, an agency could require that an employee must submit an application within 30 days after the medical emergency has ended.

The law and Office of Personnel Management's regulations do not require an order of precedence in applying transferred annual leave (e.g., liquidating an indebtedness for advanced annual or sick leave before substituting for periods of leave without pay). The intent of the law is to permit the leave recipient to decide how transferred annual leave is used.

Q. Do agencies accept donations of annual leave from employees of other agencies under the voluntary leave transfer program?

A. Yes, interagency leave transfer is mandatory if a family member of a leave recipient is employed by another agency and requests the transfer of annual leave to the leave recipient. Also, an agency may accept leave from donors in other agencies if, in the judgment of the leave recipient's employing agency, the amount of annual leave donated from agency leave donors may not be sufficient to meet the needs of the leave recipient or acceptance of leave transferred from another agency would further the purpose of the voluntary leave transfer program.

Q. How does leave accrued while using shared annual leave affect a leave recipient who is able to work during his or her medical emergency?

A. If a leave recipient is able to return to work on a temporary or part-time basis, the annual and sick leave earned while the employee is working should be placed in his or her regular annual and sick leave accounts. Because the purpose of the leave transfer program is to allow employees who have exhausted all their earned leave to use leave donated by others, the leave recipient must use up any leave earned while working on a temporary or part-time basis before using any additional shared leave.

Q. Are there any limitations on the amount of leave an employee may donate?

A. Yes. Generally, an employee may not donate more than one-half of the amount of annual leave he or she would be entitled to accrue in the leave year.

Last Updated 02/15/2008