ADVANCE SCHEDULING OF "USE OR LOSE" LEAVE Date: Thu, 09 Nov 1995 22:13:14 -0500 From: "Lynda H. Vincent" To: "USGS Employees" Subject: Administrative Digest No. 96-02, dated 11/9/95 REMINDER: ADVANCE SCHEDULING OF "USE OR LOSE" LEAVE Supervisors are reminded of their responsibility to insure that employees under their supervision have scheduled use of their "use or lose" annual leave. Since the deadline for scheduling this leave to avoid forfeiture is the beginning of the third pay period prior to the end of the leave year, supervisors should immediately review leave accounts of their employees and consult with those who have not already scheduled their "use or lose" leave. To avoid forfeiture of this leave, employees must make a written request prior to November 26, 1995, to use leave between now and the end of the leave year, which is January 6, 1996. Information on leave balances is reported in the lower left-hand corner of the employee timesheets. Most claims for restored leave are based on forfeiture caused by "exigency of the public business." The law provides that forfeited leave can be restored when it has been scheduled in advance; when it is cancelled or denied by management because of an urgent workload requirement or significant operational demand; and when that requirement or demand is so great that the employee cannot be excused from duty. The issue of urgent workload requirement is not one of employee choice; the decision to deny or cancel leave is made by the supervisor, who should carefully consider whether the employee's presence on the job is required or whether the work can be accomplished by another employee or at another time. It is the supervisor's responsibility to insure that employees have the opportunity to use the leave they earn and to encourage them to schedule that leave in a timely fashion. A decision that workload requirements or operational demands are so significant or urgent that it is absolutely essential that the employee be at work should not be made lightly. If a supervisor must cancel or deny an employee's "use or lose" leave, and workload subsequently permits rescheduling of some or all of that leave, the supervisor must make every attempt to permit the employee to use as much of the leave as possible before January 6, 1996. Any cancelled or denied leave not used by January 6, 1996, which cannot be carried over into the next leave year may be the subject of a claim for restored leave in accordance with instructions in Survey Manual Chapter 370.630.3, as described below. Employees on extended sick leave must request approval in writing to use any "use or lose" leave, even if they do not expect to return to duty before January 6, 1996. Such a written request will protect their entitlement to file a claim for leave they might forfeit because of illness. 2 Claims for leave forfeited because of exigency of public business or illness are to be made by the employee, certified by the supervisor, and forwarded through division channels to the Acting Personnel Officer, Human Resources, 601 National Center, Reston, Virginia 22092, no later than March 1, 1996. Requests for restoration of forfeited leave received after March 1 will be returned with no action taken. All claims must include the following documentation: 1. The employee's written request to use the annual leave which is dated prior to November 26, 1995, and which includes the dates that the leave was scheduled to be used and the total hours involved. If the leave request fails to include all of the leave in excess of the maximum carryover, that part of the forfeited leave which was not included in the schedule cannot be restored. 2. In the case of exigency of public business, the supervisor's denial or cancellation of the leave; and a statement from the supervisor explaining the reason for denying or cancelling the leave and why the leave could not be rescheduled before the end of the leave year to avoid forfeiture. The specific beginning and ending dates of the exigency period during which the employee was prevented from using annual leave must be included. 3. In the case of illness, a statement from the supervisor showing the date the employee returned to active duty and the reason why the annual leave could not be rescheduled before the end of the leave year to avoid forfeiture. Because management has a responsibility to reschedule cancelled leave through January 6, 1996, claims for leave forfeited because of exigency of the public business or illness must not be submitted before that date. Once forfeited leave has been approved for restoration, supervisors and employees have a mutual obligation to plan and schedule restored leave for use as expeditiously as possible, taking into consideration such factors as the time limit for using restored leave, the need to schedule regular leave, and operational demands. Recurring requests for the restoration of annual leave will require an explanation by both the supervisor and the employee regarding the attempt to plan and schedule the use of previously restored leave as well as an explanation of the attempt to plan and schedule the use of the annual leave that has been forfeited. Questions on restored leave should be directed to the Branch of Employee/Labor-Management Relations, Office of Program Support, Human Resources, at (703) 648-7427. Employees with annual leave in excess of what they expect to use by January 6, 1996, may wish to consider an alternative to using that leave by donating it to another employee through the leave sharing program. Because the USGS is not authorized to maintain a bank for storing donated leave, donations must be made to a specific leave recipient. You may call your 3 servicing personnel office to obtain the names of current recipients if you do not personally know of a recipient, or to ask to be notified if a fellow employee submits a request to be a recipient. We urge you not to wait until the end of the leave year to indicate an interest in donating "use or lose" leave. Regulations limit the amount of leave that may be donated to no more than the number of hours remaining in the leave year for which you are scheduled to work, so that if you wait until the end of the year, you may not be able to donate as much as you would like. In addition, personnel and payroll offices need to process requests to donate leave and complete the transfer of leave from one account to another prior to the end of the leave year. Please call your servicing personnel office if you have any questions about the leave sharing program or about requirements for scheduling leave or requesting restoration of cancelled leave. William F. Gossman, Jr. Acting Chief, Office of Program Support Distribution: E