Frequently Asked Questions Pay & Leave

The service agreement may include any other terms or conditions that, if violated, will result in termination of the service agreement. For example, the service agreement may specify the employee’s work schedule, type of position, and the duties he or she is expected to perform. In addition, the service agreement may address the extent to which periods of time on detail, in a nonpay status, or in a paid leave status are creditable towards the completion of the service period. (See 5 CFR 575.110(f) and 575.210(f).)

Thank you for your inquiry about President Obama’s proposal to freeze Federal pay.  OPM's recently-issued guidance memo, which includes Questions and Answers in Attachement 4, can be found at: http://www.chcoc.gov/Transmittals/TransmittalDetails.aspx?TransmittalID=3384. For further assistance regarding this matter, you must contact your human resources office.

See the relocation incentives fact sheet at – http://www.opm.gov/3rs/fact/RELBONFS.asp

No. An employee who is returned from a temporary promotion to his or her regular grade and step and is subsequently promoted to the same grade held during the temporary promotion receives an "equivalent increase" upon the permanent promotion and begins a new waiting period on the date of the permanent promotion. The time spent in the temporary grade and step is not creditable service towards the completion of a waiting period when the employee is permanently promoted.NOTE: If a temporary promotion is made permanent immediately after the temporary promotion ends, the agency may not return the employee to the lower grade. The agency must convert the employee's temporary promotion to a permanent promotion without a change in pay. See 5 CFR 531.214(e).

No. Hazardous duty pay is paid only for the hours in which the employee is in a pay status on the day on which the hazardous duty is performed. (5 CFR 550.905)

Under 5 CFR 575.110(f) and 575.210(f), agencies may address the extent to which periods of time in a nonpay status or in a paid leave status (or paid time off status) are creditable toward the completion of an incentive service period and to determine whether recruitment or relocation incentive installment payments will continue as scheduled while an employee is in a non-pay status or paid leave status, with the exception of an employee who is on military leave without pay. An employee who is absent because of uniformed service is generally entitled upon reemployment to be treated as though he or she had never left. (See 5 CFR 353.107.) This means that a person who is reemployed following uniformed service receives credit for the entire period of the absence for the purpose of rights and benefits based upon seniority and length of service, including within-grade increases, career tenure, completion of probation, leave rate accrual, and severance pay. Therefore, the period of military LWOP is creditable toward the completion of a recruitment or relocation incentive service period, and scheduled recruitment or relocation installment payments specified in the service agreement must continue during the period of military LWOP.

Under 5 CFR 537.103, each agency must establish a plan that designates the officials who are authorized to review and approve offers of student loan repayment benefits.  Agencies may use approval delegations similar to those used for other recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives.

5 U.S.C. 5545(c)(1) & (2) authorize the payment of annual premium pay for regularly scheduled standby duty and administratively uncontrollable overtime work, and 5 U.S.C. 5545a(c) authorizes availability pay, instead of some other types of premium pay, including hazardous duty pay. Thus, hazardous duty pay may not be paid for hours of work for which an employee is paid these types of premium pay.