Federal employees are entitled to use sick leave for four primary reasons: (1) personal medical needs, (2) care of a family member, (3) death of a family member, and (4) adoption of a child. For example, a full-time federal employee accrues four hours of sick leave per bi-weekly pay period (a total of 104 hours, or 13 days, per year). Alternative Leave Options for Exhausted Sick Leave

A federal employee might lack the amount of sick leave necessary to cover a prolonged medical absence from work. One exception is unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA; P.L. Policy Issues

In recent years, both the Obama Administration and some Members of Congress have made efforts to expand the scope and amount of leave available to federal employees for personal or family medical situations. On January 15, 2015, President Barack Obama signed a presidential memorandum that appeared to encourage, among other things, paid parental leave for federal employees. The memorandum directed agencies to ensure that their leave policies, pursuant to relevant laws and "irrespective of current leave balances," offer employees the maximum amount of (1) advanced sick leave for birth or adoption of a child (240 hours), and (2) advanced annual leave for foster care placement or care of a newborn or newly adopted child. Maximization of Paid Leave for Family Care

On June 23, 2014, President Barack Obama signed a presidential memorandum that encouraged agencies to maximize the availability and use of workplace flexibilities and work-life programs to increase recruitment and retention of federal employees. For example, the memorandum directed agencies to ensure employee access to annual and sick leave for care of an ill family member and FMLA unpaid leave for parental responsibilities. Other past legislation has attempted to expand the use of existing unpaid leave under the FMLA to care for sick relatives. Voluntary Leave Donation Programs

Past legislation has proposed expanding the type of leave available through leave donation programs. Namely, the Federal Employees Leave Transfer Act of 2011would have allowed a federal employee to donate his or her sick leave through the Voluntary Leave Transfer or Voluntary Leave Bank program for a peer experiencing a medical emergency.
This brief provides an overview of sick leave for federal employees, including leave options for employees when sick leave has been exhausted. Full-time federal employees can earn up to 104 hours (13 days) of sick leave per year and are entitled to use such leave for four primary reasons: (1) personal medical needs, (2) care of a family member, (3) death of a family member, and (4) adoption of a child.
A federal employee might experience a situation in which he or she does not have enough accrued sick leave to cover a prolonged absence from work for personal or family medical reasons. In these instances, a federal employee can often use alternative leave options to cover the absence. Alternative paid leave options include advanced sick leave, using annual leave for sick leave purposes, and voluntary leave donation programs. Alternative unpaid leave options include leave without pay and leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-3).
In recent years, both the Administration and Congress have attempted to expand the availability and use of paid leave for family care and related activities. On January 15, 2015, President Obama signed a presidential memorandum that appears to encourage expanded use of existing paid leave for parental activities. Namely, the memorandum directed agencies to ensure that their policies offer the maximum amount of advanced annual and sick leave for childbirth or adoption, or care of a newborn or newly adopted child.
Legislation has also proposed enhancements to leave options available to federal employees for purposes of family care. Specifically, H.R. 532 (114th Congress) has proposed paid leave for parental responsibilities and H.R. 2698 (113th Congress) proposed short-term disability insurance that could be used for purposes of childbirth or adoption. Expansion of existing unpaid leave options for care of sick relatives or bereavement has also been proposed (see, for example, S. 846 and S. 226 in the 113th Congress). Finally, H.R. 3028 (112th Congress) proposed expanded voluntary leave donation programs to include the donation of sick leave to federal employees experiencing a medical emergency.