ARTICLE 19
Leave
SECTION 1. General. Various forms of leave are generally governed by applicable laws and regulations. The purpose of this article is to set forth certain understandings between the parties concerning the administration of annual leave, parental and family leave, bereavement leave, and leave related to emergencies. It does not substitute for legal or regulatory authorities, nor does it diminish any right of Management.
SECTION 2. Annual Leave.
A. Employees are entitled to take annual leave subject to the operating needs of the office. During each leave year, reasonable efforts will be made to grant each employee at least two consecutive weeks of annual leave, or three consecutive weeks of annual leave for employees earning eight hours of annual leave per pay period.
B. Requests for and approval of annual leave shall be made in writing as far in advance as practicable. Requests for annual leave shall be made directly to the employee's immediate supervisor, or supervisor's designee(s) in the absence of the supervisor.
C. Management may grant employees advanced annual leave when:
(1) The employee is eligible to earn annual leave;
(2) The employee has served more than 90 days in the current appointment;
(3) The employee submits a request in writing on the approved form;
(4) The request does not exceed the amount of annual leave the employee would earn during the remainder of the leave year; and
(5) The employee will be in a duty status long enough to repay or liquidate the advanced leave granted.
SECTION 3. Parental and Family Leave.
A. As provided by law, an employee is entitled to a total of 12 administrative weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period.
B. In accordance with applicable statutes, regulations, and Federal guidelines, a female employee may be absent on leave for maternity purposes. The length of such absence shall be determined by the supervisor and employee in consultation with the employee's physician. She may use sick leave (with adequate medical certification), annual leave, or leave without pay to the extent that she has leave (including "donated" leave) available, and meets the requirements for use of such leave.
C. The employee shall make known her intent to request leave for maternity reasons, indicating the type of leave and approximate dates, at least 30 calendar days in advance of the leave date, to allow the office to prepare for any staffing adjustments that may be necessary.
D. No arbitrary date requiring a pregnant employee to cease work or to prevent her from returning to work after childbirth will be established. Normally these decisions will be made by the employee in consultation with her physician.
E. A male employee may be absent on annual leave or leave without pay for up to 14 days for purposes of aiding, assisting, or caring for the mother of his child or minor children while the mother is incapacitated for maternity reasons. A male employee may also request additional annual leave or leave without pay. Sick leave, for purposes of meeting family responsibilities, may also be used consistent with applicable law and guidelines.
F. Employees may request leave for periods of absence for certain family and medical reasons as provided in applicable law including the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 , the Federal Employees Family Friendly Leave Act, and the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1995 . If the necessity for such leave is foreseeable, employees shall provide Management with no less than 30 days notice. If the necessity is not foreseeable, employees shall provide notice as soon as practicable. To be eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, an employee must have completed at least one year of civilian service with the government. Copies of the above listed "family friendly" leave acts, as well as applicable NOAA and NOAA-GC guidelines, will be maintained in each NOAA-GC office location.
(1) Leave for parental and family responsibilities consists of appropriate combinations of annual leave, sick leave, or leave without pay. Sick and annual leave may also be advanced to employees, in accordance with applicable regulations. Leave without pay may be requested and granted without exhausting all other leave categories. Leave for adoption may be annual leave, leave without pay, or sick leave. Management agrees to administer all such leave requests equitably and reasonably, taking into consideration both the needs of the employees and the organization.
(2) Management will assure continued employment for an employee for whom extended leave has been approved who wishes to return to work, unless termination is otherwise required by expiration of appointment, by RIF, for cause, or for other reasons unrelated to the absence. The employee will be returned to the position formerly occupied, or, to the maximum extent practicable, to a position within the same commuting area of like seniority, status, and pay.
(3) An employee returning from leave related to parental and family responsibility has all the entitlements provided under applicable laws.
(4) When an employee requests leave:
(a) In order to care for a spouse, son, daughter, or parent of the employee who has a serious health problem, or
(b) Because of a serious health condition that renders employee unable to perform his or her job responsibilities,
Management may request certification from the health care provider pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 6383 .
G. When a pregnant employee, after consultation with her physician, requests a temporary modification of her job duties, or a temporary assignment to other available work for which she is qualified, Management shall make a reasonable, good faith effort, consistent with staffing needs, to accommodate her request. The employee must present an acceptable medical certificate supporting her request.
SECTION 4. Leave for Bereavement. In accordance with this Agreement, applicable law including the Federal Employees Family Friendly Leave Act, and applicable regulations, an employee will be granted any combination of annual, sick, or leave without pay, when there has been a death in the employee's family. The definition of family includes the following: a spouse, children (including adopted and foster), parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, in-laws (mother, father, sister, brother), and any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.
SECTION 5. Emergencies. When it becomes necessary to close an office location because of inclement weather or an emergency situation (such as heavy snow, severe icing conditions, flood, earthquake, hurricane, major fire, civil disturbances, bomb threats, or massive power failures), employees (except for essential employees) will be granted administrative leave if they cannot be relocated. When such an event occurs, Management will provide timely notice to the affected office(s) that administrative leave has been declared. If such an event occurs, and affected employees have not been notified that administrative leave has been declared, they may request administrative leave. Upon such a request, Management shall immediately furnish the affected employees with a response by both the agency official empowered to make declarations of emergency situations, and the NOAA-GC management official empowered to grant administrative leave in the affected office location. If the response is oral, and the decision is to deny administrative leave, the denial shall be placed in writing with a statement of the reasons therefore.
SECTION 6. Personal Business. The parties recognize that employees occasionally will need to conduct personal business during work hours, whether in the office or away from the office. Except for brief telephone calls and absences, time spent on personal business is not compensable, and must be charged to annual leave, credit hours, or compensatory time.
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