A1 - President Clinton instructed Federal agencies to make 24 hours of unpaid leave available to Federal employees as an interim measure to broaden family-friendly leave polices while encouraging Congress to pass legislation which would expand FMLA to grant up to 24 hours of leave without pay (LWOP) for three purposes:

1. to participate in school activities directly related to the educational advancement of a child;
2. to accompany their children to routine medical or dental appointments, such as annual checkups and vaccinations; and
3. to accompany their elderly relatives to routine medical or dental appointments or other professional services related to the care of the elderly relative, such as making arrangements for housing, meals, telephones, banking services, and other similar activities.

Although the former President’s recommendation was never enacted into law, President Obama supports the use of LWOP for family support purposes but takes the initiative one step further by directing agencies to extend this policy to same-sex domestic partners of Federal employees.

A2 - On June 2, 2010, OPM issued a memorandum to begin implementation of President Obama’s memorandum by providing a definition of same-sex domestic partner to be used for the benefits identified in President Obama’s memorandum.  The new definition is as follows:
The term “domestic partnership” is defined as a committed relationship between two adults, of the same sex, in which the partners -

1. are each other’s sole domestic partner and intend to remain so indefinitely;
   
2. maintain a common residence and intend to continue to do so (or would maintain a common residence but for an assignment abroad or other employment-related, financial, or similar obstacle);
3. are at least 18 years of age and mentally competent to consent to contract;
4. share responsibility for a significant measure of each other’s financial obligations;
5. are not married or joined in a civil union to anyone else;
6. are not the domestic partner of anyone else;
7. are not related in a way that, if they were of opposite sex, would prohibit legal marriage in the U.S. jurisdiction in which they reside;
8. are willing to certify, if required by the agency, that they understand that willful falsification of any documentation required to establish that an individual is in a domestic partnership may lead to disciplinary action and the recovery of the cost of benefits received related to such falsification, as well as constitute a criminal violation under 18 U.S.C. 1001, and that the method for securing such certification, if required, shall be determined by the agency; and
9. are willing promptly to disclose, if required by the agency, any dissolution or material change in the status of the domestic partnership.

A3 - No, the Administration’s policy is not based on the authority of the FMLA.  The 24 hours of LWOP is based on each agency’s authority to schedule work and manage leave and absences.

A4 - No.  President Obama’s memorandum does not change the policies to grant 24 hours of unpaid leave for the purposes outlined in Q1 & A1.  The critical change is to ensure that this flexibility is extended to cover employees with same-sex partners and their families.

A5 - With respect to same-sex or opposite-sex domestic partners, OPM’s latest regulations concerning the definitions in 5 CFR part 630, subparts B, H, I, J, and K, related to “family member” and “immediate relative” for the use of sick leave, funeral leave, voluntary leave transfer, voluntary leave bank, and emergency leave transfer are available at http://www.opm.gov/fedregis. 

These final regulations, published on June 15, 2010, implement Section 1 of the President’s June 17, 2009, Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies on Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination, promote consistent application of policy across the Federal Government, and allow the Federal Government to serve as a model employer.

OPM’s regulations modify the definitions of “family member” and “immediate relative” and create new definitions for associated terms.  The new and expanded definitions now cover grandparents and grandchildren, same-sex and opposite-sex domestic partners, stepparents, step children, foster, guardianship, and similar relationships. 

Employees have many leave and work scheduling flexibilities to help them care for their family members, including their same-sex or opposite-sex domestic partners or family members of the domestic partner.  For example, if an employee needs time off from work to accompany his or her child, or the child of his or her domestic partner, to a doctor’s appointment, he or she may use sick leave for family care. If the use of sick leave is not an available option, an employee may request annual leave, leave without pay, credit hours under a flexible work schedule, compensatory time off, or advanced annual or sick leave from his or her agency. If the employee is experiencing a personal or family medical emergency and has exhausted all of his or her available annual and sick leave, he or she may apply to become a leave recipient under the agency’s leave transfer and/or leave bank programs.  For various leave and work scheduling flexibilities, see our leave fact sheets and work schedules fact sheets.

A6 - President Obama’s memorandum addresses only same-sex domestic partners. However, the authority to grant LWOP to opposite-sex domestic partners is at the discretion of each agency.

A7 - No. An employee does not have an entitlement to the 24-hours of LWOP. An employee has a right to request LWOP, subject to the right of the supervisor to approve or disapprove. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of each supervisor to balance support for employees’ needs for time away from the workplace with the need to ensure that employees’ work requirements are fulfilled and that agency operations are conducted efficiently and effectively.

A8 - Yes. An employee may use the 24 hours of LWOP in the same increments as all other leave granted by his or her agency.

A9 - An elderly relative is elderly person who is related to the employee by blood, marriage, or by virtue of being the elderly relative of an employee’s domestic partner.  (See Q2 & A2 for the definition of domestic partner for purposes of the 24 hours of LWOP.)  OPM encourages agencies to permit employees to use this LWOP to care for an elderly relative who may require daily care or assistance in making arrangements for housing, meals, telephones, banking services, and other similar activities.

A10 - OPM encourages agencies to permit employees to participate in activities, such as parent-teacher conferences (including meetings with principals, counselors, teaching staff, or child-care providers); school board meetings; tutoring; interviewing for a new school or child-care facility; and school-sponsored activities, such as sports and recreation programs, field trips, class plays, “career day,” or other volunteer activities supporting a child’s educational advancement. “School” refers to an elementary school, secondary school, Head Start program, or a child-care facility.

A11 - An employee’s child is a child related by blood, marriage, or adoption; a foster child; or a child of an employee’s domestic partner.  (See Q2 & A2, above, for the definition of domestic partner for purposes of the 24 hours of LWOP.)

A12 - Yes to both questions. Agencies have discretionary authority to require evidence that is administratively acceptable related directly to such appointments, including medical certification, as appropriate, from an employee who requests LWOP under the 24-hour LWOP family support policy.

A13 - A supervisor may approve an employee’s request to use additional LWOP or annual leave, compensatory time off, or credit hours under flexible work schedules for purposes not specified in the President’s policy, such as organizing or holding an estate or yard sale to sell the belongings of an elderly relative or to care for his or her child or elderly relative when the normal child care or elder care provider is sick or otherwise unavailable.  There is no ceiling on LWOP beyond the agency’s mission needs and own policies.  LWOP is granted at the discretion of the agency.

A14 - No.  Although agencies are encouraged to provide up to 24 hours of LWOP each leave year for these purposes, this does not limit or prohibit an employee from requesting and receiving additional leave or other time off for school activities, routine family medical purposes, and elderly relatives’ health or care needs. These needs can be met through the use of annual leave, compensatory time off, credit hours under flexible work schedules, or additional LWOP.

A15 - No.  Under the Federal leave sharing program, an employee may donate annual leave to other Federal employees who have a personal or family medical emergency and who have exhausted their own available annual and sick leave.  A leave recipient may use donated annual leave only for the purpose of the medical emergency for which the leave recipient was approved.  OPM does not believe routine medical or dental appointments are consistent with the purposes for which donated annual leave may be used--i.e., medical emergencies.

A16 - OPM does not require agencies to keep records on the amount of LWOP used for these purposes, but an agency may decide to maintain such records.