ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- We are approaching that time of year when employees need to begin scheduling excess, or "use or lose," annual leave.
All use or lose annual leave must be scheduled and approved in writing on the Request for Leave or Approved Absence (OPM Form71) prior to the beginning of the third pay period prior to the end of the leave year.
The current leave year ends, for most ANAD employees, on Jan. 6, 2018.
Employees subject to the maximum carryover of 30 days should be aware that the deadline for scheduling use or lose leave is Nov. 25, in order to meet the statutory requirement.
There is a two-step process for having use or lose leave restored which could not be used due to a work exigency.
In accordance with Public Law 93-181, enacted Dec. 14, 1973, commanders/directors are responsible for approving exigencies within their organizations. In that capacity, commanders/directors should only be requested to approve exigencies in rare circumstances.
This expectation applies to all employees regardless of grade. Ensure your managers and supervisors are working with employees to properly schedule and use their excess leave.
If an exigency does occur which precludes an employee from using scheduled and approved use or lose annual leave, the manager/supervisor must process a request for restoration of that forfeited annual leave.
Leave restoration requests should not be initiated until after the beginning of the next leave year -- Jan. 7, 2018.
Once approved, a written request must be submitted along with:
• Originals or copies of the OPM Form 71 showing that the annual leave was scheduled, approved in advance of Nov. 25, 2017, and disapproved with justification and date.
• A written request to the Commander for authorization to restore annual leave previously denied.
The request for restoration must be submitted through your chain of command to include your commander prior to submission to the Anniston Civilian Personnel Advisory Center.
Scheduled use or lose annual leave which could not be used due to illness can also qualify for restoration.
In this situation, the procedures for leave restoration cited above should be followed.
Each leave year, hundreds of hours of leave are "lost" due primarily to miscalculations. Those hours represent valuable resources in time and money.
No civilian should lose leave unless unforeseen mission-related emergencies occur.
The Voluntary Leave Transfer Program offers a viable alternative for those individuals who wish to donate excess annual leave to eligible federal employees. Your generosity for those donations is sincerely appreciated by all recipients.
For additional information about donation procedures, contact or visit the local Civilian Personnel Advisory Center in the Headquarters Building.
If additional information is required, please contact Kelly M. Smith-O'Hara at Ext. 5219 in the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center or via e-mail at kelly.m.smith-ohara.civ@mail.mil.
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