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• I'm afraid that if I go to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for help, my supervisor will find out. Can this happen?
  Information about your discussions with the EAP cannot be disclosed without your permission. There are regulations (42 CFR Part 2) that require confidentiality, and they provide penalties for unlawful or...
• Can an agency grant time off for fitness activities?
  Each department or agency has discretion to excuse employees from their duties without loss of pay or charge to leave.  OPM advises that the granting of excused absence satisfies one...
• Do agencies need to create a permanent, dedicated space for use by nursing mother employees?
  No. A space temporarily created or converted into a space for expressing milk or made available when needed by the nursing mother is sufficient, provided that the space is shielded...
• Is the break time for nursing mothers paid or unpaid time?
  Section 7(r) of the FLSA (29 U.S.C. 207(r)) and OPM guidance does not require agencies to compensate employees who are granted reasonable break time for expressing milk. However, many agencies...
• Are there Federal privacy requirements for employees who are expressing breast milk?
    The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) signed into law on March 23, 2010, amended section 7(r) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  This amendment requires employers to...
• How much will the EAP cost me?
  There is no cost to employees who receive counseling and other services provided by the agency's EAP.  Costs for outside treatment and professional services, which can result in personal expense,...
• What is the Federal Child Care Subsidy Program?
  The Federal Child Care Subsidy Program (FCCSP), established in 2001 by Public Law 107-67, Sec. 630, allows agencies to use appropriated and revolving funds to help lower income Federal employees...
• I want to quit smoking. What assistance is available for me?
  Beginning in plan year 2011, all FEHB plans must cover four tobacco cessation counseling sessions of at least 30 minutes for at least two quit attempts per year.  This includes...
• Is tuition assistance available at Federally Sponsored Child Care Centers?
  Centers managed by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) are required to have a tuition-assistance program.  Employees of Federal agencies and members of the U.S. military may also qualify for...
• What must an agency provide to employees who want to express breast milk in the workplace?
  Consistent with the requirements of section 7(r) of the FLSA, Federal agencies should provide a reasonable amount of break time and a space to express milk as frequently as needed...

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