Sick Leave for Federal Employees: In Brief (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
April 20, 2015 |
| Report Number |
R43994 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Kathryn A. Francis, Analyst in Government Organization and Management |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
This brief provides an overview of sick leave for federal employees, including leave options for employees when sick leave has been exhausted. Full-time federal employees can earn up to 104 hours (13 days) of sick leave per year and are entitled to use such leave for four primary reasons: (1) personal medical needs, (2) care of a family member, (3) death of a family member, and (4) adoption of a child.
A federal employee might experience a situation in which he or she does not have enough accrued sick leave to cover a prolonged absence from work for personal or family medical reasons. In these instances, a federal employee can often use alternative leave options to cover the absence. Alternative paid leave options include advanced sick leave, using annual leave for sick leave purposes, and voluntary leave donation programs. Alternative unpaid leave options include leave without pay and leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-3).
In recent years, both the Administration and Congress have attempted to expand the availability and use of paid leave for family care and related activities. On January 15, 2015, President Obama signed a presidential memorandum that appears to encourage expanded use of existing paid leave for parental activities. Namely, the memorandum directed agencies to ensure that their policies offer the maximum amount of advanced annual and sick leave for childbirth or adoption, or care of a newborn or newly adopted child.
Legislation has also proposed enhancements to leave options available to federal employees for purposes of family care. Specifically, H.R. 532 (114th Congress) has proposed paid leave for parental responsibilities and H.R. 2698 (113th Congress) proposed short-term disability insurance that could be used for purposes of childbirth or adoption. Expansion of existing unpaid leave options for care of sick relatives or bereavement has also been proposed (see, for example, S. 846 and S. 226 in the 113th Congress). Finally, H.R. 3028 (112th Congress) proposed expanded voluntary leave donation programs to include the donation of sick leave to federal employees experiencing a medical emergency.
