U.S.D.A. - Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services
Pay & Leave
Leave can fall under many different categories, the most common being
annual leave and sick leave. Leave can be charged in increments of as
little as 15 minutes, as permitted by agency policy. Check with your
supervisor or timekeeper for your agency’s policy.
Annual Leave: Annual leave is paid time off at the regular rate of
pay. It is intended for any personal use (such as vacation or in the
place of sick leave).
Full-time employees accrue annual leave at the following rates:
- An employee with less than 3 years of service earns 4 hours of annual leave each pay period (104 hours per leave year).
- An employee with 3 to 15 years of service earns 6 hours each pay period except for the last pay period in the calendar year when 10 hours of annual leave is earned (160 hours per leave year).
- An employee with 15 years of service or more earns 8 hours each pay period (208 hours per leave year).
For most employees, a maximum of 240 hours of annual leave can be carried
over from one calendar year to the next.
Sick Leave: Sick leave is time off that is paid at the regular
rate of pay. Full-time employees earn 4 hours of sick leave each
pay period, and there is no limit on the amount that can be carried over
from year to year.
Sick leave may be used for absences when the employee:
- Is unable to work due to physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy, or childbirth,
- Is receiving medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment,
- Would jeopardize the health of others by exposing them to a communicable disease (as determined by health authorities or a health care provider),
- Must be absent from duty related to the adoption of a child,
- Must provide care for a family member due to physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy, childbirth, or medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment,* or
- Must make arrangements in connection with the death of a family member or attends the funeral of a family member.*
* There are limits on the amount of leave that can be used for family
members (see items 5 and 6 above). If you believe you may be eligible for
these types of leave, please contact the Pay and Leave Services Branch or
talk to your supervisor.
If you are a part-time employee, you will earn annual and sick
leave on a pro-rated basis based on your work schedule. (Example: A new
part-time employee will earn 1 hour of annual leave and 1 hour of sick
leave for each 20 hours worked.)
An employee whose appointment is limited to fewer than 90 calendar
days will not earn annual leave but will earn sick leave.
Leave Without Pay (LWOP): LWOP is an approved leave status, but an
employee would not receive pay for the absence. It may be appropriate
when an absence is justified, but you do not have sufficient annual or
sick leave to cover the absence.
Absence Without Leave (AWOL): AWOL is charged for absences that
are not approved. AWOL absences can result in disciplinary action up to
and including removal.
When a full-time employee accumulates 80 hours of unpaid time
(e.g., LWOP or AWOL), the employee does not earn
annual leave or sick leave during that pay period. The employee will earn
leave in the succeeding pay periods until he or she again accumulates 80
hours of LWOP during a pay period.
Requesting Leave: You are expected to request your leave in
advance of your absence. Your supervisor will tell you the procedure for
requesting leave. If you cannot request leave in advance, call your
supervisor as soon as possible after your scheduled starting time on the
first day of your absence.
Federal Holidays:
The following days are paid Federal Holidays:
If the holiday falls on a Saturday, the federal holiday is Friday; if a
holiday falls on a Sunday, the federal holiday is Monday.
Transferring Employees: Your annual and sick leave balances will
be added to your leave account when we receive your leave records from
your previous agency. If you prefer, you can give the Pay and Leave
Services Branch a copy of the final Earnings and Leave
Statement from your previous agency, which shows your balances at the
time of transfer. We will then add those balances to your leave account.
Once the official leave record is received from your previous agency, we
will compare the balances to those on the Earnings and Leave Statement
and make adjustments as needed.
Questions regarding your Pay and/or Leave...
Call us at 304/480-8276 or e-mail us at orientation@bpd.treas.gov.