At the discretion of the agency, an employee may be granted up to a maximum of 240 hours (30 days) of sick leave when the exigency of the situation requires it. For more information and limitations, see our fact sheet “Additional Sick Leave” .

Sick leave use limits in the year of leave
No limits on an employee’s personal medical needs
Up to 13 days (104 hours) of sick leave for general family care and bereavement each leave year
Up to 12 weeks (480 hours) of sick leave to care for a family member with a serious illness each leave year
If an employee has previously used any portion of the 13 days of sick leave for general family care or bereavement in the leave year, that amount must be deducted from the 12 weeks of leave. If an employee has already used 12 weeks of sick leave to care for a family member with a serious illness, he or she cannot use the additional 13 days in the same year of leave for general family care purposes. An employee is entitled to a total of no more than 12 weeks of sick leave each year of leave for all family care purposes.

Part-time employees and employees with unusual lengths of service are also eligible to use sick leave, and the amount of sick leave that may be granted is proportional to the average number of hours worked during the employee’s scheduled period of service. each week.

Sick leave when using annual leave
An agency may grant sick leave to an employee on annual leave for any of the purposes for which sick leave may be granted, but is not required to do so. For example, if an employee becomes ill while on annual leave, the agency may grant him or her sick leave in lieu of annual leave. Similarly, if an employee on annual leave must care for a family member who is sick, the agency may also grant sick leave.

Sick leave due to a communicable disease
An employee is entitled to sick leave if health authorities or a health care provider determine that the employee’s presence at work could endanger the health of others by contracting a communicable disease. The employee is also entitled to use sick leave to care for a family member who has been similarly exposed. The use of sick leave will be appropriate in these circumstances, even if the employee or family member is not ill, but will be limited to circumstances where the exposure itself could endanger the health of others, and will only occur in cases of serious communicable diseases, such as a communicable disease. diseases for which federal isolation and quarantine is authorized, which currently include: cholera, diphtheria, infectious tuberculosis, plague, smallpox, yellow fever, viral hemorrhagic fevers, Severe O See CDC Legal authorities on isolation and quarantine(external link). This is an illustrative, but not exhaustive, list of the types of serious infectious diseases whose exposure alone can endanger the health of others.

While the employee does not have to be the sole provider of care, the employee must actively assist a family member to use sick leave to care for a family member exposed to an infectious disease. Because the employee will not be caring for a family member who is sick, but for one who is symptom-free, the employee may request sick leave only if the exposed family member cannot otherwise care for himself or herself (such as a minor child or elderly relative). . Conversely, it would not be appropriate for an employee to use sick leave to care for a able-bodied spouse who has been exposed to an infectious disease but is not exhibiting any symptoms because the employee would not need to actively care for the sick . spouse. If the employee’s family member has actually contracted a communicable disease and has become ill,

Pregnancy/Birth.
A pregnant employee who must be absent from work at some point prior to delivery for health reasons or the health of her unborn child has the right to use sick leave. The employee is also entitled to use sick leave to care for a family member who is disabled due to pregnancy or childbirth, or to accompany her to prenatal care appointments. Under the definition of a serious health condition, any period of disability due to pregnancy or childbirth or prenatal care is considered a serious health condition, even if the employee or family member does not receive active treatment from a health care provider for a period of disability or a period of disability not exceeding 3 consecutive calendar days. The sick leave may be used for medical examinations and during the period of disability for childbirth and recuperation. After the period of incapacity for work is over, the right to use the sick leave is not granted. There is no provision in law or regulation that allows sick leave to be used when absent from work to care for a healthy newborn baby, bond with a healthy child, or to perform other child care duties.

Disabled Veterans
Under Executive Order 5396 of July 17, 1930, a disabled veteran is entitled to use sick leave (or annual leave or leave without pay) for necessary treatment related to a service-connected disability. The veteran must give advance notice of the date(s) on which he or she is requesting leave for treatment.

Agency record keeping requirements
The agency must keep records of the number of sick leaves used by the employee for general family care, bereavement, and care of a family member with a serious illness. The records must be sufficient to ensure that the employee does not exceed the limits for sick leave use for the year of leave set forth above.