As part of your federal employee compensation package, we are pleased to offer a significant amount of paid time off. In addition to annual, sick, and holiday leave, we have other types of paid leave that you may be qualified to take. This ensures you have the time you need to take care of yourself and stave off burnout.
Annual Leave
During each pay period, you’ll accrue your Annual Leave (paid time off) according to the number of years of government service.
- For up to 3 years of service, you’ll earn four hours per pay period.
- For 3 to 15 years of service, you’ll earn six hours per pay period.
- For more than 15 years of service, you’ll earn eight hours per pay period.
You may carry forward up to 240 hours of annual leave to the next leave year.
Sick Leave
Similar to annual leave, four hours of sick leave is accrued per pay period. There is no limit to the amount of sick leave you may accumulate during your federal career.
Holiday Leave
There are several days you can count on having off automatically each year - Federal holidays! The following 11 paid federal holidays are yours to enjoy each year:
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday
- Washington’s Birthday
- Memorial Day
- Juneteenth
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Columbus Day
- Veterans Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
Leave-Sharing Programs
Sometimes, situations come up that may require you to take some extra time off. Or you may find that you don’t need all the time off you’ve accrued. To help ensure that our employees have the time off that they need, we offer two voluntary programs:
- IRS Leave Bank: Open enrollment for this program is conducted twice a year. To enroll, you must donate the annual leave amount you earn in a pay period. Once enrolled, if you have a medical emergency, such as an illness or you need to care for a sick family member, you can use the IRS Leave Bank, even when you have exhausted your available leave.
- Government-Wide Leave Transfer Program: Through this program, you may donate your annual leave to federal employees in other agencies. To qualify to receive leave, your application indicating a personal or family medical emergency, including maternity situations, must be officially approved. Membership in the IRS Leave Bank program is not required.
Other Leave
In addition to your annual and sick leave, we also offer many other types of leave that you can utilize if needed:
- Family and Medical Leave: Take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for serious medical issues for you or if you need to care for a seriously ill immediate family member.
- Paid Parental Leave: In the 12 months following the birth of a child or placement of an adopted or foster child, an eligible parent can take up to 12 weeks of paid leave, taken on a continual or intermittent basis.
- Disabled Veterans Leave: This type of sick leave was granted as part of the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2015 and is a one-time entitlement for veteran employees with a qualifying service-connected disability rating of 30% or more. Those eligible can take up to 104 hours during a 12-month period.
- Court Leave: This leave is available so you can fulfill your civic obligation of jury duty or to perform as a witness in a court proceeding where one of the parties is a government entity.
- Organ and Bone Marrow Donation: If you donate an organ, you’ll receive up to 30 days paid leave, or 7 days paid leave for a bone marrow donation.
- Voting: When the voting polls are not open at least three hours before or after your regular work hours, you are able to take time off to vote.
- Blood Donation: You may take up to 4 hours of paid leave off to donate blood.