The funeral for Pope John Paul II will be held on Friday, April 8, 2005. Some Federal employees may wish to participate in the observance of Pope John Paul's funeral service. Agencies may approve an employee's request for leave or other time off from work on Friday to the extent that the employee's absence from work does not interfere with the efficient accomplishment of an agency's mission or the employee is not needed at work for reasons of national security, defense, or other essential public business.

The Federal personnel system provides agencies with considerable flexibility in scheduling hours of work and leave or other time off from work. An employee may request annual leave, leave without pay, regular compensatory time off, or compensatory time off for religious observances to take part in the observance of the Pope's funeral. If compensatory time off for religious observances is approved, the employee must schedule the hours during which he or she will work to make up the time the employee is absent from work on Friday. In addition, employees on alternative work schedules (AWS) may schedule their AWS day off or use credit hours (if applicable). Additional information on the Federal Government's leave and work scheduling flexibilities is available on the Office of Personnel Management's Web site at http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/HTML/factindx.asp, http://www.opm.gov/oca/pay/HTML/COMP.HTM, http://www.opm.gov/oca/worksch/html/reli.htm, and http://www.opm.gov/oca/worksch/index.asp.

For additional guidance, agency Chief Human Capital Officers and Human Resources Directors may contact their assigned OPM Human Capital Officers. Employees should contact their human resources offices for assistance.

cc: Chief Human Capital Officers
      Human Resources Directors