Editorial Notes

Amendments

2021—Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title XI, §1111(b), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1953, which directed amendment of the table of sections for subchapter II of chapter 63 by adding item 6329d, was executed to the table of sections for this chapter, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

2016—Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title XI, §1138(c)(2), (d)(4), (e)(2), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2462, 2469, 2470, which directed amendment of the table of sections for subchapter II of chapter 63 by adding items 6329a to 6329c, was executed to the table of sections for this chapter, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

2015—Pub. L. 114–75, §2(b), Nov. 5, 2015, 129 Stat. 641, added item 6329.

1999—Pub. L. 106–56, §1(c)(2), Sept. 24, 1999, 113 Stat. 407, added item 6328.

1997—Pub. L. 105–18, title II, §9004(b), June 12, 1997, 111 Stat. 197, added heading of subchapter VI and item 6391.

1994—Pub. L. 103–329, title VI, §629(a)(2)(B), Sept. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 2423, added item 6327.

1993—Pub. L. 103–103, §5(a)(2), Oct. 8, 1993, 107 Stat. 1023, substituted "Authority to participate in both programs" for "Limitation on employee participation" in item 6373.

Pub. L. 103–3, title II, §201(a)(2), Feb. 5, 1993, 107 Stat. 23, added heading of subchapter V and items 6381 to 6387.

1990—Pub. L. 101–508, title VII, §7202(i)(2), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–337, inserted "and nonappropriated fund" after "office" in item 6312.

1988—Pub. L. 100–566, §2(d)(1)(B), Oct. 31, 1988, 102 Stat. 2844, which provided that the table of sections for subchapters III and IV were to be repealed effective 5 years after Oct. 31, 1988, was repealed by Pub. L. 103–103, §2, Oct. 8, 1993, 107 Stat. 1022, effective Oct. 30, 1993.

Pub. L. 100–566, §2(b), Oct. 31, 1988, 102 Stat. 2843, added heading of subchapter III and items 6331 to 6340 and heading of subchapter IV and items 6361 to 6373.

1975—Pub. L. 94–183, §2(27), Dec. 31, 1975, 89 Stat. 1058, struck out item 6309 "Leave of absence; rural carriers".

1970—Pub. L. 91–563, §1(b), Dec. 19, 1970, 84 Stat. 1476, included witness service and official duty status for certain witness service in item 6322.

1968—Pub. L. 90–588, §1(b), Oct. 17, 1968, 82 Stat. 1151, added item 6326.

Pub. L. 90–367, §2(b), June 29, 1968, 82 Stat. 277, added item 6312.

1967—Pub. L. 90–221, §3(b), Dec. 23, 1967, 81 Stat. 671, added item 6325.

1966—Pub. L. 89–747, §1(3), Nov. 2, 1966, 80 Stat. 1179, inserted reference to leave for crews of vessels in item 6305.

Executive Documents

Modernizing Federal Leave Policies for Childbirth, Adoption, and Foster Care To Recruit and Retain Talent and Improve Productivity

Memorandum of President of the United States, Jan. 15, 2015, 80 F.R. 3135, provided:

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies

Now more than ever, our Nation's economic success rests on our ability to empower our citizens to choose jobs that best utilize their talents and interests. All employers, including the Federal Government, should support parents to ensure they can both contribute fully in the workplace and also meet the needs of their families. The availability of paid maternity leave, for example, has been shown to increase the likelihood that mothers return to their jobs following the birth of a child, and paid maternity and paternity leave has been shown to improve the health and development outcomes of the infant. In addition, it is critically important for parents and their newborn or newly adopted child to have the opportunity to form strong family attachments and relationships.

Men and women both need time to care for their families and should have access to workplace flexibilities that help them succeed at work and at home. Offering family leave and other workplace flexibilities to parents can help achieve the goals of recruiting and retaining talent, lowering costly worker turnover, increasing employee engagement, boosting employee morale, and ensuring a diverse and inclusive workforce. Yet, the United States lags behind almost every other country in ensuring some form of paid parental leave to its Federal workforce; we are the only developed country in the world without it.

My memorandum of June 23, 2014 (Enhancing Workplace Flexibilities and Work-Life Programs), directs the heads of executive departments and agencies (agencies) to more fully utilize workplace flexibilities and work-life programs to promote recruitment, retention, employee engagement, and workforce productivity. My Administration fully supports efforts to align the Federal Government with the parental leave policies of leading private sector companies and other industrialized countries, and will continue to take administrative steps to modernize leave policies to better support Federal employees.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to further build on these important goals and the work currently underway by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and other agencies to review existing personnel policies, I hereby direct as follows:

Section 1. Advanced Sick and Annual Leave. (a) Agencies shall ensure that, to the extent permitted by law, their policies offer 240 hours of advanced sick leave, at the request of an employee and in appropriate circumstances, in connection with the birth or adoption of a child or for other sick leave eligible uses. This benefit shall be provided for purposes specified in law and regulation irrespective of existing leave balances. Within 60 days of OPM issuing its guidance pursuant to section 3 of this memorandum, agencies shall make any necessary changes to their policies to implement this section.

(b) Agencies shall ensure that their policies offer the maximum amount of advanced annual leave permitted by law, at the request of an employee, for foster care placement in their home or bonding with a healthy newborn or newly adopted child. This benefit shall be provided for purposes specified in law and regulation irrespective of existing leave balances. Within 60 days of OPM issuing its guidance pursuant to section 3 of this memorandum, agencies shall make any necessary changes to their policies to implement this section.

Sec. 2. Emergency Backup Dependent Care. Agencies shall consider, consistent with existing resources, providing access to affordable emergency backup dependent care services such as through an Employee Assistance Program.

Sec. 3. Update Leave Policies. (a) In coordination with the agency review and related OPM summary report of workplace flexibilities and work-life policies required by sections 4 and 5 of my memorandum of June 23, 2014, agencies shall make necessary changes to their policies and practices to ensure that employees experiencing the birth or adoption of a child, foster care placement in their home, or who have other circumstances eligible for sick or annual leave are aware of the full range of benefits to which they are entitled. These changes shall also ensure that discretionary flexibilities are used to the maximum extent practicable, in accordance with the laws and regulations governing these programs and consistent with mission needs, and that employees understand the benefits for which they may qualify. Any necessary changes to agency policies required by this section shall be made as soon as possible, and no later than January 1, 2016.

(b) For purposes of the changes required by subsection (a) of this section, agencies shall review policies with respect to the following required benefits:

(i) use of accrued sick leave (including period of incapacitation for birth mother, care of birth mother during period of incapacitation, doctor appointments for birth parents or newborn child, or any periods of time during which adoptive parents are ordered or required by an adoption agency or by a court to take time off from work to care for the adopted child);

(ii) leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act (including intermittent leave for childbirth, adoption, or foster care placement in the home; and leave without pay or substitution of appropriate paid leave in accordance with law and regulation);

(iii) use of accrued annual leave;

(iv) use of leave without pay for a longer period than what is provided for under the Family and Medical Leave Act; and

(v) break times and private space for nursing mothers.

(c) For purposes of the changes required by subsection (a) of this section, agencies shall ensure those changes provide to the maximum extent practicable the following discretionary benefits:

(i) advancement of sick or annual leave, consistent with the requirements set forth in section 1 of this memorandum;

(ii) donated annual leave under the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program;

(iii) donated annual leave under the Voluntary Leave Bank Program;

(iv) emergency backup dependent care services, such as through an Employee Assistance Program;

(v) telework; and

(vi) flexible work schedules, including part-time schedules and job sharing arrangements.

(d) Within 90 days of the date of this memorandum, OPM shall issue guidance to agencies regarding implementing advanced sick and annual leave policies, including their application to part-time employees. The OPM summary report of workplace flexibilities and work-life policies required by section 4 of my memorandum of June 23, 2014, shall provide further guidance to implement this memorandum.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(d) The Director of OPM is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

Barack Obama.      

Supporting Access to Leave for Federal Employees

Memorandum of President of the United States, Feb. 2, 2023, 88 F.R. 7833, provided:

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to strengthen the Federal Government as a model "employer [sic], it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. Workers must have access to paid leave when they face a medical or caregiving need that affects their ability to work. Yet, the United States is one of the few countries in the world that does not guarantee paid leave—and 92 percent of the Nation's lowest wage workers, who are disproportionately women and workers of color, lack access to paid family leave through their employer. Lack of access to paid family and medical leave can risk the health, well-being, and economic security of workers and their families. Paid leave policies benefit both employees and employers and will strengthen our economy as a whole. That is why my Administration supports a national, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program that will ensure that workers have access to paid leave to bond with a new child; care for a seriously ill loved one; deal with a loved one's military deployment; heal from the worker's own serious illness; grieve the death of a loved one; or seek safety and recover from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. In addition to recognizing the importance of access to paid leave, my Administration acknowledges that unpaid leave can serve as a critical stopgap, allowing individuals to maintain their employment while attending to family or medical needs.

As the Nation's largest employer, the Federal Government must be a model for providing leave policies, both paid and unpaid, that allow employees time away from work to care for themselves or a loved one. Being a model employer includes updating our workplace policies and practices to reflect the emerging needs of our workforce today and tomorrow. It also requires recognizing an employee's important caregiving relationships with family members, including extended family and other individuals with equivalent relationships. In addition, Federal employees need access to extended family and medical leave, particularly during their first year of Federal service when they may not have accrued sufficient leave and are not yet eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 [5 U.S.C. 6381 et seq.; 29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.]. By supporting Federal employees' access to leave throughout their service, the Federal Government will strengthen its ability to recruit, hire, develop, promote, and retain our Nation's talent and address barriers to equal opportunity, especially with respect to women's participation in the Federal workforce.

Sec. 2. Supporting Federal Employees' Access to Leave Without Pay. (a) In furtherance of the policy set forth in section 1 of this memorandum, the heads of executive departments and agencies (agencies) are encouraged to consider providing leave without pay for Federal employees, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, including in the following circumstances:

(i) to bond with a new child, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, to address an employee's own serious health condition, or to help manage family affairs when a family member is called to active duty, including during an employee's first year of service; and

(ii) bereavement after the death of a family member, including during an employee's first year of service.

(b) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, through the Deputy Director for Management, shall support agencies in carrying out subsection (a) of this section.

(c) Agency heads, or their designees, shall inform the President, through the Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Gender Policy Council, on progress towards implementation of this memorandum within 1 year of its issuance [Feb. 2, 2023].

Sec. 3. Supporting Federal Employees' Access to Paid and Unpaid Leave to Seek Safety and Recover from Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking. Consistent with applicable law, the Director of OPM shall provide recommendations to the President, through the Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Gender Policy Council, within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, regarding actions OPM and agencies may take to support Federal employees' access to paid leave, such as sick leave, or leave without pay, for purposes related to seeking safety and recovering from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking—including, for example, obtaining medical treatment (inclusive of mental health treatment), pursuing assistance from organizations that provide services to survivors, seeking relocation, or taking related legal action, as well as assisting a family member in engaging in any of these activities.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(d) The Director of OPM is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

J.R. Biden, Jr.