Article 27
Absence and Leave

Section 27.01

A. The provisions of this Article apply to all employees regardless of marital status.

B. Leave will be administered in accordance with DOE Order 322.1A. Leave will be earned in one hour increments and used in fifteen minute increments.

C. Leave will be scheduled in such a manner so as to balance the needs of the employee and the accomplishment of work. Leave is to be granted whenever possible.

D. Employees will be notified annually of proper procedures for requesting leave.

E. Employees are encouraged to schedule leave in advance when financial commitments are involved.

Section 27.02 - Annual Leave

A. Employees should advise their leave approving official of leave they plan to take as soon as they decide they wish to take it.

B. An employee's use of annual leave is always at the employee's discretion, when approved by the leave approving official. Annual leave scheduling will be worked out between the employee and the leave approving official. Employees will submit annual leave requests on Standard Form 71 as far in advance as possible. Requests may be made in amounts of leave accrued plus leave to be earned during the leave year as reflected in an employee's biweekly statements of earning and leave. The leave approving official will decide whether or not to approve employee requests as soon as possible, and a decision will be made no later than ten (10) workdays following receipt of the request. If the leave request cannot be decided promptly, the leave approving official and the employee will meet within the ten (10) day period to discuss the best way to resolve the leave request decision.

Employees may not be denied annual leave for reasons other than those concerning the employee's and/or the office's work situation. Once approved, employee's leave requests will not be rescinded but for a significant unanticipated change in the employee's and/or the office's work situation. The Employer will give written notice, upon request, of specific reason(s) for rescinding or denying leave. Leave approving officials will make every effort to adjust the employee's and/or the office's work situation to permit employees to be granted annual leave as requested and to use scheduled annual leave once approved.

C. Employee may appeal recission in writing to the step 2 Official under Article 11, who must meet with employee within three (3) workdays.

D. An employee may request, and have approved, a change in selection of annual leave time provided that another employee's choice is not affected.

E. Employees may change annual leave previously authorized to sick leave when sick leave is appropriate and to leave without pay with the employee's, and leave approving official's approval.

F. Employees will not be forced to take annual leave except to the extent of the law.

G. An employee seeking unscheduled annual leave will ensure that the leave approving official is notified within the first hour of the employee's tour of duty, or as soon thereafter as possible in unusual circumstances. The employee should attempt to contact the leave approving official directly, and inform him or her of the anticipated extent of the absence. Voice mail is an appropriate means of notification, unless the leave approving official specifically objects, and identifies in writing a reasonable alternative means of notification. If the absence extends beyond the anticipated period, the leave approving official will be notified promptly.

H. The leave approving official will decide whether to approve employee requests as soon as possible, and a decision will be made no later than ten (10) workdays following receipt of the request.

I. Disapproval of leave will not be used as a form of disciplinary action. However, this will not preclude the use of a memorandum of leave restriction.

J. Conflicts in annual leave requests made by employees, which would otherwise be approved, shall be at first attempted to be resolved among the employees. If there is no resolution of conflicts in the granting of annual leave, requests will be resolved based on the following criteria to be considered by the leave approving official regarding approval:

1. Situations where leave would otherwise be lost;

2. Date of submittal of leave request;

3. Financial commitments;

4. Seniority; or

5. Extraordinary or emergency reasons.

Leave approving officials must advise employees of the basis for the decision.

Section 27.03 - Sick Leave

A. An employee shall earn leave in accordance with applicable statutes and regulations. The use of sick leave is an employee benefit to be used by the employee in accordance with the specific procedures of this article for absences required by illness, injury, medical appointments, or certain circumstances involving contagious diseases.

B. When practical, sick leave requests for non-emergency medical reasons, ("e.g." dental or optical examinations, operations, or treatments) should be submitted as far in advance as possible to the appropriate leave approving official. Such requests shall be approved as quickly as possible, unless the employee's absence would create a workload problem, in which event the employee would be given advance notice by the leave approving official as time permits so that other appointments can be made.

C. An employee seeking unscheduled sick leave will ensure that the leave approving official is notified within the first hour of the employees tour of duty, or as soon thereafter as possible in unusual circumstances. The employee should attempt to contact the leave approving official directly, and inform him or her of the anticipated extent of the absence. Voice mail is an appropriate means of notification, unless the leave approving official specifically identifies in writing an alternate means of notification. If the absence extends beyond the anticipated period, the leave approving official will be notified promptly.

D. Normally, a medical certificate of incapacitation will not be required in order to approve a request for sick leave of three (3) consecutive days or less, unless the employee repeatedly fails to follow the procedures for requesting leave or the Employer suspects that sick leave has been used contrary to statute or regulation. Employees will not be required to furnish a medical certificate to substantiate a request to be granted sick leave for periods of three (3) consecutive work days or less unless the Employer has given written notice that the employee must furnish a medical certificate or other administratively accepted evidence for all absences from work which the employee desires to charge to sick leave.

The leave approving official will exercise the utmost respect for the employee's need for privacy. Specific information about an employee's health or sick leave will not be shared unless requested by the employee (except for information that would indicate a potential danger to the health and safety of the employee or others).

In the event that the employee wishes to request sick leave for an extended period of time (i.e., in excess of 3 days) and does not wish to share specific information supporting the request with the leave approving official, the employee must execute a release of information, to be provided along with a sealed copy of the existing supporting information (not to be opened by the leave approving official), in order for a separate determination of incapacitation to be reviewed.

E. An employee suspected of abuse of sick leave based on a pattern of usage, will be counseled and the reason(s) for the absence(s) will be considered before any determination is made that abuse has occurred. When counseling fails, an employee may be issued a written warning. If the written warning fails, the employee may be placed on leave restriction. The leave restriction letter will expire after 6 months, unless extended in writing due to a continuation of the same pattern of leave abuse.

A requirement to furnish medical certification of incapacitation to substantiate a request for sick leave for periods of three (3) days or less will be of no longer duration than six (6) months (which duration will be stated in the letter). Such a requirement is not a disciplinary action and will not be placed in the employee's Official Personnel Folder.

F. Employees may visit health units for brief periods of illness. Except in emergencies, they must notify their leave approving official in advance. Normally, sporadic visits of one hour or less are excused without charge to leave.

G. Employees will not be required to furnish a doctor's certificate on a continuing basis if the employee suffers from a chronic condition which does not necessarily require medical treatment although absence from work may be necessary and the employee has furnished medical certification of the chronic condition.

H. In rare instances, an approved absence which would otherwise be chargeable to sick leave may be chargeable to leave without pay at the option of the employee and with the approval of the Employer.

I. A request by an employee for advanced sick leave will be approved when all of the following conditions are met:

1. The requesting employee is eligible to earn sick leave;

2. The leave is required for a serious disability or ailment;

3. Continued employment is expected upon the employee's return;

4. The employee has provided acceptable medical documentation to support the need for advanced sick leave; and

5. The employee is not on leave restriction.

Notwithstanding the above, nothing contained in this article will restrict the Employer's ability to require the presence of an employee, pursuant to its rights to assign work under 5 U.S.C. 7106 (A)(2)(b), should the Employer determine that the employee's services are necessary.

J. A leave approving official, after having received a request for advanced sick leave, will respond in writing indicating the decision and the basis for the decision if the request is denied.

Section 27.04 - Leave Without Pay

A. The Employer agrees to approve leaves of absence for any employee elected to a position of national officer of the National Treasury Employees Union for the purpose of serving full time in the elective position. Such leaves of absence will be concurrent with the term of office of the elected official and will automatically be renewed by the Employer upon notification in writing from the elected official that the employee has been reelected and wishes to continue in a leave of absence status.

B. The Employer agrees to approve a leave of absence for one employee for the purpose of serving in a full time appointive position for the National Treasury Employees Union. The term of the leave of absence will be no more than two (2) years. Any affected employee will have his/her leave of absence renewed for one additional two (2) year period upon request.

C. Any employee with five (5) years of consecutive service with the Employer is entitled to a one (1) year leave of absence to engage in a full-time, job-related study. A program of study will be found to be job-related if it will significantly assist the employee to do the employee's current job, or to achieve and perform another job to which the employee can reasonably aspire.

It is understood that such requests, shall be granted in accordance with the following:

1. The employee's absence will not create a severe workload problem; and

2. If there are more eligible applicants than such leaves of absence, the employee with the greatest length of service will be chosen.

D. If feasible, an employee returning from an extended leave of absence will be returned to the position held at the time that the leave of absence began. If the employee returning from an extended leave of absence cannot be placed in the position held at the time the leave of absence began, then every effort will be made to place the employee in a like position. If the returning employee cannot be placed in the original position held at the time the leave of absence began, or in a like position, every effort will be made to place the employee in a like position somewhere in the first tier organization.

Section 27.05 - Administrative Leave

A. When voting polls are not open at least three (3) hours either before or after an employee's regular hours of work, the employee will, upon written request, be granted an amount of administrative time by the leave approving official which will permit the employee to report to work up to three (3) hours after the polls open or leave work up to three (3) hours before the polls close, whichever requires the lesser amount of time.

B. Early dismissals and closing caused by hazardous weather conditions or other emergency situations will be communicated in accordance with FPM Letter 610-7 of December 1, 1983. If the decision to excuse employees is made during normal working hours, employees will be notified as soon as possible. Absences of up to one (1) day may be excused even if the office remains open, if prohibition or restriction of traffic by public authority during work hours would require a one-way commute or if a breakdown in public transportation that could not be foreseen would preclude an employee from reporting within four (4) hours of the start of the workday despite a diligent effort.

Section 27.06 - Leave for Maternity/Paternity Reasons

Family Friendly leave policies guaranteed by higher law are discussed under Section 27.08 of this article.

A. Pregnancy shall be treated like any other medically certified temporary disability. Therefore, maternity leave may be a combination of as many as three separate kinds of leave: sick leave, annual leave, and leave without pay. Lengths of absence for maternity reasons will be determined by the employee, her physician, and her leave approving official based on the reasonable needs of each. Upon request, a female employee will be granted appropriate leave in accordance with applicable policies and other regulations for such leave. Absent an emergency situation she must coordinate all such leave with her leave approving official, prior to her absence for maternity reasons. The Employer will consider granting up to six (6) months of leave of absence after child-birth.

B. A male employee who has provided the Employer with reasonable advance notice may be absent on part-time or full-time annual leave, sick leave, or leave without pay for a reasonable period of time for the purpose of caring for his minor children or the mother of his newborn child while she is incapacitated for maternity reasons. The Employer will consider granting up to six (6) months leave of absence for this purpose.

C. An employee may use a combination of annual leave, sick leave or leave without pay for the time required in the adoption of a child. The Employer will consider granting up to six (6) months leave of absence for the purpose of adopting a child.

D. If after consulting her physician, a pregnant employee requests a temporary modification of her work duties or a temporary reassignment, every reasonable effort will be made to accommodate her request.

Section 27.07 - Religious Holiday

A. Normally, an employee will be granted annual leave or leave without pay for a workday which occurs on a religious holiday. Employees should give as much advance notice as is reasonable.

B. An employee whose personal religious beliefs require the abstention from work during certain periods of time may elect to engage in overtime for time lost for meeting those religious requirements.

C. To the extent that such modifications in work schedules do not interfere with the efficient accomplishment of the Department's mission, the Employer shall in each instance afford the employee the opportunity to work compensatory overtime and shall in each instance grant compensatory time off to an employee requesting such time off for religious observances when the employee's personal religious beliefs require that the employee abstain from work during certain periods of the workday or workweek.

D. For the purpose stated in paragraph C of this section, the employee may work such compensatory overtime before or after the grant of compensatory time off. A grant of advanced compensatory time off should be repaid by the appropriate amount of compensatory overtime work within twenty-six (26) pay periods. Overtime worked during this period will be counted against the compensatory time off until it has been made up before the employee can be paid for the overtime or accumulate more compensatory time. Compensatory overtime shall be credited to an employee on an hour-to-hour basis. Appropriate records will be kept of compensatory overtime worked and used.

Section 27.08 - Family Friendly Leave Provisions

Nothing in the Agreement shall negate any federal employee entitlements under any of family friendly leave provisions guaranteed by public law, regulation, and DOE Order. Requests for leave entitlements pursuant to these provisions may, at the leave approving official's discretion, require submittal of medical documentation in accordance with the procedures outlined in Section 27.03.D. of this Article.

The Family Friendly Leave provisions include:

A. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (See 5USC, section 6381 et seq.; 5 CFR, section 630.1201, et seq.)

Employees are entitled to a total of 12 administrative workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for (a) the birth of a son or daughter and care of the newborn; (b) placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care; (c) the care of a spouse, son, daughter, or parent with a serious health condition; and (d) a serious health condition of the employee that makes the employee unable to perform the duties of his or her position. Upon return from such leave, the employee must be returned to the same position or to an equivalent position with equivalent benefits, pay, status and other terms and conditions of employment.

B. Family Friendly Leave (See 5 CFR part 630, subpart B and D)

Employees may use up to 104 hours (13 days) of sick leave each leave year to care for a family member, as that term is defined in the glossary, or to arrange for or attend the funeral of a family member, if their sick leave balance is sufficient, and up to 480 hours to care for family members with serious medical conditions. Full-time employees may use 40 hours (5 days) of sick leave for these purposes without regard to their current sick leave balance. Additional hours may be used if the employee retains a balance of at least 80 hours of sick leave in his or her leave account. The employee may use as much sick leave as is available to him/her for purposed related to the adoption of a child, or for the employee's own medical treatment or incapacitation due to illness, injury, pregnancy or childbirth.

C. Leave for Bone-Marrow or Organ Donation

Employees are entitled to use 7 days of paid leave each calendar year (in addition to annual or sick leave) to serve as a bone-marrow or up to 30 days to serve as an organ donor.

D. Federal Leave Sharing

Employees may donate up to one half of their annual leave to other Federal employees who have medical emergencies. The regulations at 5 CFR, section 630.901 et seq. contain specific limitations on such donations.

Section 27.09 - Other Leave Provisions

A. Normally, an employee will be granted annual leave or leave without pay for up to five (5) workdays when there has been a death in the employee's immediate family. The concept of the immediate family shall include the following: the employee's mother, father, mother-in-law, father-in-law, spouse, brother, sister, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, child, grandchild, grandparent, grandparent-in-law or a member of the employees household with whom the employee shares or has shared a mutual residence within the past year.

B. Any employee who is a member of the National Guard or other reserve component of the Armed forces shall be entitled to military leave for each day of active duty in such organizations for up to a maximum of fifteen (15) calendar days in any calendar year. This leave need not be taken on consecutive days. Approval of the military leave provided in the foregoing shall be based on the presentation of the orders directing the employee to active duty and a copy of the certification of completion of such duty.

C. An employee is entitled to court leave to the extent necessary to serve jury duty or to participate in judicial proceedings in a nonofficial capacity as a witness when one of the parties is the United States, the District of Columbia, or a state or local government.