HRDG 4630 - Absence and Leave - Section B - Subsection c

An approving official may approve an employee to use advance annual leave (annual leave granted before it is actually earned). The amount of advance leave granted may not exceed the total number of hours the employee will earn for the rem ainder of the leave year. If the annual leave is not earned later during the leave year (e.g., due to excess LWOP), the employee may be required to refund the unearned portion.

An approving official may not approve advance annual leave when it is known or expected that the employee will not return to duty (e.g., the employee has applied for disability retirement, submitted a resignation, or received notice of furlough or sepa ration).

Advance annual leave not paid back at the end of the leave year may be carried over to the next leave year if:

• The employee's appointment is permanent or indefinite,
• The employee was prevented from paying back advance leave because he/she was in non-leave earning status due to illness or other personal emergency,
• The remaining amount of advance annual leave owed does not exceed one-half of the annual leave to be earned in the next leave year, and
• Advance annual leave is not carried over for 2 succeeding years.

If the employee does not meet the above conditions, he/she is required to repay the advance annual leave. The repayment must be made by one or more of the following methods:

• Applying annual leave earned in each pay period to the negative balance,
• A single deduction from the employee's salary,
• A series of salary deductions,
• Substituting a minimum of 20 hours of earned compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay, earned compensatory time off for travel (CTOT), earned credit hours, restored annual leave, and/or a time off award,
• Making a cash repayment for the remaining hours of advance annual leave. The cash repayment must be equal to the value of the leave at the time of the advanced leave was taken. Contact the servicing personnel office (SPO) if additional guidance is needed, or
• Collection from any monies owed to an employee who is separating from Government service (e.g., final salary payment).

Note: Substituting earned paid time off for annual leave is done on an hour-for-hour basis, e.g., one hour of CTOT for one hour of annual leave. Earned sick leave may not be used to repay any annual leave indebtedness.

Note: Use MRP Form 347, Substitution of Earned Paid Time Off for Annual/Sick Leave Indebtedness, to pay back the advance leave. A leave audit must accompany the form.

An employee is not required to pay back the value of advance annual leave if he/she separated because of:

• Death;
• Disability retirement;
• Entrance into military service with reemployment rights; or
• Resignation or separation because of disability which, according to medical certification, prevents the employee from returning to or continuing employment.

Note: When an employee is not required to pay back advance annual leave, the supervisor should notify the servicing personnel office, through established administrative channels and procedures, to make necessary adjustments to the payroll/personnel database.