United States Office of Personnel Management |
MEMORANDUM FOR HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES (CPM 2001-08) |
|
FROM: |
KAY COLES JAMES |
SUBJECT: |
Excused Absence and Assistance to Federal Employees Affected by the Attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon |
I join the President in expressing
sympathy to our fellow Federal employees and their families who have been
affected by the attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I am saddened and outraged by the loss of life
and suffering caused by these senseless acts of violence.
The following information is intended
to bring you up to date on recent actions taken in response to this terrible
tragedy.
Excused Absence
President Bush signed a memorandum for
heads of executive departments and agencies requesting that employees who are
prevented from reporting to work or faced with a personal emergency because of
the terrorist attacks and who can be spared from their usual responsibilities be excused
from duty without charge to leave or loss of pay. This request also applies to employees who are
needed for emergency law
enforcement, relief, or recovery efforts authorized by Federal, State, or local
officials having jurisdiction.
This
does not apply to Federal employee members of the National Guard or Reserves who
are called up to assist. Military
leave under 5 U.S.C. 6323(b) is appropriate for those employees.
A copy of the Presidents memorandum
is attached. Questions may be
referred to the Office of Personnel Managements (OPMs) Compensation
Administration Division on (202) 606-2858 or by email at payleave@opm.gov.
Workers Compensation Benefits
Workers compensation benefits are
available in the case of Federal employees who were injured or killed in these
attacks.
The Department of Labor has established special procedures to
provide direct assistance to affected employees and their families.
Federal
Retirement, Health Benefits, and Life Insurance Benefits
The Department
of Labor will ensure that on-the-job injury and death claims are properly paid under
the Federal Employees Compensation Act.
OPM will set up special expedited
processing arrangements for payments under the Federal Employees Group Life
Insurance Program, which is run out of MetLife in New Jersey.
Questions
on Federal benefits may be directed to OPMs Retirement and Insurance Service
at (202) 606-0788.
Emergency Leave Transfer Program
The President has directed OPM to
establish an emergency leave transfer program to assist employees affected by
this major disaster. The emergency
leave transfer program will permit employees in an executive agency to donate
unused annual leave for transfer to employees of the same or other agencies who
have been adversely affected by the attacks and who need additional time off
from work without having to use their own paid leave.
The emergency leave transfer program is
authorized under 5 U.S.C. 6391 and is separate from the Federal leave sharing
program established under 5 U.S.C. 6332 and 6362. Under the emergency leave transfer program, the use of
donated leave is not restricted to medical emergencies, and approved leave
recipients are not required to exhaust their own accrued and accumulated annual
and sick leave before using donated annual leave.
Employees may use leave donated under the emergency leave transfer
program for personal needs or to care for a family member (as that term is
defined in 5 CFR 630.902) who was affected by these attacks.
In addition, donated leave may be substituted retroactively (beginning no
earlier than the date of the emergency) for any period of leave without pay used
as a result of the emergency or to liquidate an indebtedness incurred by an
employee for advanced annual or sick leave used as a result of the emergency.
We believe the agencies with employees
affected by the attacks are in the best position to determine whether, and how
much, donated annual leave is needed by their employees and to quickly
facilitate the transfer of donated annual leave within their agencies.
Therefore, in response to the Presidents directive, we are authorizing
the affected agencies to do the following:
(1)
Determine whether,
and how much, donated annual leave is needed by affected employees;
(2)
As appropriate, approve leave donors and/or leave recipients in their
agencies;
(3)
Facilitate the distribution of donated annual leave from approved leave
donors to approved leave recipients
within their agencies.
Since most affected employees will be
granted excused absence for the immediate emergency, the emergency leave
transfer program will be in place to assist approved leave recipients as the
need for donated leave becomes known. When
a Federal agency notifies OPM that the amount of annual leave donated by its
employees is not sufficient to meet the needs of its approved leave recipients,
OPM will coordinate a Governmentwide transfer of donated annual leave from leave
donors to leave recipients. We will
provide agencies with additional
guidance to facilitate the transfer of donated leave to the appropriate Federal
agencies for transfer to approved leave recipients.
Forms for donating and receiving leave
under the emergency leave transfer program can be obtained from OPMs web site
at
http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/html/formindx.htm.
Premium Pay for Employees Performing
Emergency Work
Agencies are reminded of their
authority under the law (5 U.S.C. 5547(b)) and OPM regulations (5 CFR 550.106)
to make exceptions to the biweekly premium pay limitation. When the head of an agency or his or her designee determines
that an emergency posing a direct threat to life or property exists, an employee
who is performing work in connection with the emergency must be paid premium pay under the annual limitation of GS-15, step 10, rather than the GS-15, step 10,
biweekly limitation. We encourage
agencies to exercise this authority in the case of any employee who performs
emergency work in connection with these attacks and their aftermath.
Agency heads are required to make the determination as soon as
practicable and to make entitlement to premium pay under the annual limitation
effective as of the first day of the pay period in which the emergency began.
(Law enforcement officers continue to be covered by a separate biweekly
limitation at 5 CFR 550.107.)
Questions may be referred to OPMs
Office of Compensation Administration on
Web page created September 2001