[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 113 (Monday, June 14, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31735-31736]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-14999]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 113 / Monday, June 14, 1999 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 31735]]


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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR PART 630

RIN: 3206-AI71


Absence and Leave; Use of Restored Annual Leave

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing proposed 
regulations to aid agencies and employees involved inYear 2000 (Y2K) 
computer conversion efforts. The regulations provide that excess annual 
leave forfeited by employees who are unable to schedule and use their 
leave as a result of Y2K computer conversion efforts will be deemed to 
have been scheduled in advance and therefore eligible for restoration.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 14, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent or delivered to Donald J. Winstead, 
Assistant Director for Compensation Administration, Office of Personnel 
Management, Room 7H31, 1900 E Street NW., Washington, DC 20415-8200, 
FAX (202) 606-0824, or email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharon Herzberg, (202) 606-2858, FAX 
(202) 606-0824, or email to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 6304 of title 5, United States Code, 
establishes limitations on the amount of annual leave that an employee 
may carry over from one leave year to the next. Most employees can 
carry over no more than 240 hours of annual leave to the next leave 
year. However, 5 U.S.C. 6304(d)(1)(b) also provides that excess annual 
leave lost as a result of ``exigencies of the public business when the 
annual leave was scheduled in advance'' may be restored to the affected 
employee.
    For the purpose of Federal leave administration, an exigency of the 
public business occurs when there is a pressing need for an employee's 
service and his or her pre-approved annual leave must be canceled 
because there are no other practical alternatives available to 
accomplish the work by a given deadline. This situation may present 
itself later this year for Federal employees who are carrying out their 
agencies' efforts to address Year 2000 (Y2K) computer conversion 
problems. Many of these employees will be faced with the possible 
forfeiture of ``use or lose'' annual leave because they must remain on 
the job until the Y2K computer conversions have been implemented and 
thoroughly tested. Under the normal rules, agencies would be faced with 
the administrative burden of scheduling, canceling, and restoring such 
leave for these employees at a time when all available attention and 
energy should be focused on Y2K conversion efforts.
    The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) believes the Government's 
efforts to address Y2K computer conversion problems constitute an 
exigency of the public business under 5 U.S.C. 6304(d)(1)(b), which 
justifies the restoration of any forfeited annual leave in excess of 
the maximum allowable limits. Since it is known in advance that it is 
not possible for employees affected by the Y2K exigency to be absent on 
leave, the scheduling and canceling of such leave places an unnecessary 
administrative burden on the employees and agencies involved.
    Consistent with OPM's commitment to provide agencies with the human 
resources management tools they need to address Y2K computer conversion 
problems, we propose to simplify the procedures for restoring annual 
leave forfeited as a result of the Y2K exigency. Section 630.310(a) of 
title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, would deem the Y2K computer 
conversion project an exigency of the public business and establish 
January 31, 2000, as the Governmentwide termination date for the Y2K 
exigency. In addition, under Sec. 630.310(b), annual leave forfeited as 
a result of the Y2K exigency would be deemed to have been scheduled in 
advance for the purpose of satisfying the requirements in 5 U.S.C. 
6304(d) and 5 CFR 630.308. Therefore, annual leave forfeited as a 
result of the Y2K exigency would be restored under 5 U.S.C. 6304 and 
placed in a separate restored leave account. The procedures established 
by these proposed regulations are similar to those established for 
employees of Department of Defense installations undergoing closure or 
realignment.

Time Limit for Use of Restored Leave

    The existing regulations at Sec. 630.306 provide that annual leave 
restored as a result of an exigency of public business must be 
scheduled and used not later than the end of the leave year ending 2 
years after the termination date of the exigency. The Governmentwide 
termination date for the Y2K exigency would be January 31, 2000. 
Therefore, consistent with the current regulations, Sec. 630.310(c) 
would provide that annual leave restored because of the Y2K computer 
conversion exigency must be scheduled and used not later than the end 
of leave year 2002.

Treatment of Current Restored Leave Accounts

    Many employees currently involved in Y2K computer conversion 
efforts have an ``active'' restored leave account--i.e., an account of 
restored annual leave that was established under other conditions 
permitting restoration of annual leave under 5 U.S.C. 6304(d). Since 
there is no authority to restore previously restored annual leave, 
employees (and agencies) have little option but to use (or permit the 
use of) the leave in the ``active'' restored leave account to avoid the 
forfeiture of annual leave, even though the employees are needed to 
work on Y2K conversions. The proposed regulations at Sec. 630.310(d) 
would alleviate this problem because the time limitation for using 
active restored annual leave would be canceled for the entire period 
during which employees' services are determined to be necessary for the 
completion of Y2K computer conversion efforts. As of January 31, 2000, 
a new time limit would be established under Sec. 630.310(b) for using 
all restored leave available to the employee under 5 U.S.C. 6304(d). 
The new time limit for using restored annual leave would be not later 
than the end of leave year 2002.

Employees Who Transfer to Another Position

    As noted earlier, Sec. 630.308 currently requires that before 
forfeited annual

[[Page 31736]]

leave may be considered for restoration, it must have been scheduled in 
writing before the start of the third biweekly pay period prior to the 
end of the leave year. We are concerned about the possible consequences 
of requiring advance scheduling for an employee who transfers from a 
position deemed necessary for Y2K conversion efforts to another 
position during the latter portion of leave year 1999. It is possible 
that such employees would have leave in excess of the maximum 
limitation, but would still be unable to schedule it. Therefore, 
Sec. 630.310(e) would allow an agency to consider restoration of annual 
leave forfeited at the end of leave year 1999 to an employee whose 
involvement in Y2K conversion efforts ends during the leave year if the 
agency determines that there is a correlation between the lack of 
advance scheduling and the employee's Y2K conversion efforts.
    OPM believes such annual leave may be considered for restoration. 
Section 630.310(e) would require affected employees to make a 
reasonable effort to comply with the advance scheduling requirement in 
Sec. 630.308(a). However, the head of an agency could exempt an 
employee from the advance scheduling requirement if the employee could 
show that he or she was involved in Y2K conversion efforts during the 
leave year and was unable to comply with the scheduling requirement due 
to circumstances beyond his or her control. Since the agency may 
determine that there was sufficient time for the employee to schedule 
and use annual leave before the end of leave year 1999, this provision 
would not guarantee that excess annual leave would be restored.
    Annual leave restored to an employee in leave year 2000 as a result 
of the Y2K conversion exigency, but unused by the end of leave year 
2002, will be forfeited, with no possibility of further restoration.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    I certify that these regulations would not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because they 
would affect only Federal agencies and employees.

E.O. 12866, Regulatory Review

    This rule has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget 
in accordance with Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects 5 in CFR Part 630

    Government employees.

Office of Personnel Management.
Janice Lachance,
Director.

    Accordingly, OPM is proposing to amend part 630 of title 5 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 630--ABSENCE AND LEAVE

    1. The authority citation for part 630 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 6311; Sec. 630.301 also issued under Pub. L. 
103-356, 108 Stat. 3410; Sec. 630.303 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 
6133(a); Secs. 630.306 and 630.308 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 
6304(d)(3), Pub. L. 102-484, 106 Stat. 2722, and Pub. L. 103-337, 
108 Stat. 2663; subpart D also issued under Pub. L. 103-329, 108 
Stat. 2423; Sec. 630.501 and subpart F also issued under E.O. 11228, 
30 FR 7739, 3 CFR, 1974 Comp., p. 163; subpart G also issued under 5 
U.S.C. 6305; subpart H also issued under 5 U.S.C. 6326; subpart I 
also issued under 5 U.S.C. 6332, Pub. L. 100-566, 102 Stat. 2834, 
and Pub. L. 103-103, 107 Stat. 1022; subpart J also issued under 5 
U.S.C. 6362, Pub. L. 100-566, and Pub. L. 103-103; subpart K also 
issued under Pub. L. 102-25, 105 Stat. 92; and subpart L also issued 
under 5 U.S.C. 6387 and Pub. L. 103-3, 107 Stat. 23.

Subpart C--Annual Leave

    2. In Sec. 630.308, paragraph (a) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 630.308  Scheduling of annual leave.

    (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section and 
Sec. 630.310, before annual leave forfeited under section 6304 of title 
5, United States Code, may be considered for restoration under that 
section, use of the annual leave must have been scheduled in writing 
before the start of the third biweekly pay period prior to the end of 
the leave year.
* * * * *
    3. A new Sec. 630.310 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 630.310  Scheduling of annual leave by employees determined 
necessary for Year 2000 computer conversion efforts.

    (a) Year 2000 computer conversion efforts are deemed to be an 
exigency of the public business for the purpose of restoring annual 
leave forfeited under 5 U.S.C. 6304. This exigency terminates on 
January 31, 2000.
    (b) For any employee who forfeits annual leave under 5 U.S.C. 6304 
at the beginning of leave year 2000 because the agency determined the 
employee's services were required during the Year 2000 computer 
conversion exigency, the forfeited annual leave is deemed to have been 
scheduled in advance for the purpose of 5 U.S.C. 6304(d)(1)(B) and 
Sec. 630.208.
    (c) Annual leave restored under 5 U.S.C. 6304(d) because of the 
Year 2000 computer conversion exigency must be scheduled and used not 
later than the end of leave year 2002.
    (d) The time limits established under paragraphs (a) and (b) of 
Sec. 630.308 for using previously restored annual leave do not apply 
for the period during which an employee's services were determined 
necessary for the completion of Year 2000 computer conversion efforts. 
On January 31, 2000, a new time limit will be established under 
paragraph (c) of this section for all annual leave restored to such an 
employee.
    (e) An employee whose services were determined necessary during the 
Year 2000 computer conversion exigency for a portion of leave year 
1999, but who subsequently moves to a position not involving Year 2000 
computer conversion efforts, must make a reasonable effort to comply 
with the scheduling requirement in Sec. 630.308(a). The head of the 
agency or his or her designee may exempt such an employee from the 
advance scheduling requirement in Sec. 630.308(a) if coverage under 
paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section terminated during leave year 
1999 and the employee can demonstrate that he or she was unable to 
comply with the advance scheduling requirement due to circumstances 
beyond his or her control.

[FR Doc. 99-14999 Filed 6-11-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-U