Subpart M—Disabled Veteran Leave

This subpart implements 5 U.S.C. 6329, which establishes a leave category, to be known as “disabled veteran leave,” for an eligible employee who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more. Such an employee is entitled to this leave for purposes of undergoing medical treatment for such disability. Disabled veteran leave must be used during the 12-month period beginning on the first day of employment. OPM's authority to regulate section 6329 is found in section 2(d) of Public Law 114-75.

This subpart applies to an employee who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more, subject to the conditions specified in this subpart. This subpart does not apply to employees of the United States Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory Commission who are subject to regulations issued by the Postmaster General under section 2(d)(2) of Public Law 114-75. This subpart applies only to an employee who is hired on or after November 5, 2016.

In this subpart:

12-month eligibility period means the continuous 12-month period that begins on the first day of employment. For an employee who was eligible (or later determined to have been eligible) for disabled veteran leave as an employee of the United States Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory Commission and who subsequently commences employment covered by this subpart, the 12-month eligibility period is the period that began on the first day of employment with the United States Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory Commission (as determined under regulations issued by the Postmaster General to implement 5 U.S.C. 6329).

Agency means an agency of the Federal Government. In the case of an agency in the Executive branch, it means an Executive agency as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105. When the term “agency” is used in the context of an agency making determinations or taking actions, it means management officials of the agency who are authorized by the agency head to make the given determination or take the given action.

Employee has the meaning given that term in 5 U.S.C. 2105.

Employment means service as an employee during which the employee is covered by a leave system under which leave is charged for periods of absence. This excludes service in a position in which the employee is not covered by 5 U.S.C. 6329 due to application of another statutory authority.

First day of employment means the first day of service that qualifies as employment that occurs on the later of—

(1) The earliest date an employee is hired after the effective date of the employee's qualifying service-connected disability, as determined by the Veterans Benefits Administration; or

(2) The effective date of the employee's qualifying service-connected disability, as determined by the Veterans Benefits Administration.

Health care provider has the meaning given that term in § 630.1202.

Hired means the action of—

(1) Receiving an initial appointment to a civilian position in the Federal Government in which the service qualifies as employment under this subpart;

(2) Receiving a qualifying reappointment to a civilian position in the Federal Government in which the service qualifies as employment under this subpart; or

(3) Returning to duty status in a civilian position in the Federal Government in which the service qualifies as employment under this subpart, when such return immediately followed a break in civilian duty (with the employee in continuous civilian leave status) to perform military service.

Medical certificate means a written statement signed by a health care provider certifying to the treatment of a veteran's qualifying service-connected disability.

Medical treatment means any activity carried out or prescribed by a health care provider to treat a veteran's qualifying service-connected disability.

Military service means “active military, naval, or air service” as that term is defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(24).

Qualifying reappointment means an appointment of a former employee of the Federal Government following a break in employment of at least 90 calendar days.

Qualifying service-connected disability means a veteran's service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more by the Veteran Benefits Administration, including a combined degree of disability of 30 percent or more that reflects the combined effect of multiple individual disabilities, which resulted in the award of disability compensation under title 38, United States Code. A temporary disability rating under 38 U.S.C. 1156 is considered a valid rating in applying this definition for as long as it is in effect.

Service-connected has the meaning given such term in 38 U.S.C. 101(16).

Veteran has the meaning given such term in 38 U.S.C. 101(2).

Veterans Benefits Administration means the Veterans Benefits Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

(a) An employee who is a veteran with a qualifying service-connected disability is entitled to disabled veteran leave under this subpart, which will be available for use during the 12-month eligibility period beginning on the first day of employment. For each employee, there is a single first day of employment.

(b) In order to be eligible for disabled veteran leave, an employee must provide to the agency documentation from the Veterans Benefits Administration certifying that the employee has a qualifying service-connected disability. The documentation should be provided to the agency—

(1) Upon the first day of employment, if the employee has already received such certifying documentation; or

(2) For an employee who has not yet received such certifying documentation from the Veterans Benefit Administration, as soon as practicable after the employee receives the certifying documentation.

(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (b) of this section, an employee may submit certifying documentation at a later time, including after a period of absence for medical treatment, as described in § 630.1306(c). The 12-month eligibility period is fixed based on the first day of employment and is not affected by the timing of when certifying documentation is provided.

(d) If an employee's service-connected disability rating is decreased or discontinued during the 12-month eligibility period such that the employee no longer has a qualifying service-connected disability—

(1) The employee must notify the agency of the effective date of the change in the disability rating; and

(2) The employee is no longer eligible for disabled veteran leave as of the effective date of the rating change.

(a) Upon receipt of the certifying documentation under § 630.1304, an agency must credit 104 hours of disabled veteran leave to a full-time, nonseasonal employee or a proportionally equivalent amount for employees with part-time, seasonal, or uncommon tours of duty, except as otherwise provided in this section.

(b) The proportional equivalent of 104 hours for a full-time employee is determined for employees with other schedules as follows:

(1) For an employee with a part-time work schedule, the 104 hours is prorated based on the number of hours in the part-time schedule (as established for leave charging purposes) relative to a full-time schedule (e.g., 52 hours for a half-time schedule);

(2) For an employee with a seasonal work schedule, the 104 hours is prorated based on the total projected hours to be worked in an annual period of 52 weeks (based on the seasonal employee's seasonal work periods and full-time or part-time schedule during those periods) relative to a full-time work year of 2,080 hours (e.g., 52 hours for a seasonal employee who works full-time for half a year); and

(3) For an employee with an uncommon tour of duty (as defined in § 630.201 and described in § 630.210), 104 hours is proportionally increased based on the number of hours in the uncommon tour relative to the hours in a regular full-time tour (e.g., 187 hours for an employee with a 72-hour weekly uncommon tour of duty.)

(c) When an employee is converted to a different tour of duty for leave purposes, the employee's balance of unused disabled veteran leave must be converted to the proper number of hours based on the proportion of hours in the new tour of duty compared to the former tour of duty. For seasonal employees, hours must be annualized in determining the proportion.

(d) The amount of disabled veteran leave initially credited to an employee under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section must be offset by the number of hours of sick leave an employee has credited to his or her account as of the first day of employment. For example, if an employee is being reappointed and having sick leave recredited upon such reappointment, the amount of disabled veteran leave must be reduced by the amount of such recredited sick leave. Similarly, if an employee is returning to civilian duty status after a period of leave for military service, that employee may have a balance of sick leave, which must be used to offset the disabled veteran leave.

(e)(1) An employee who was previously employed by an agency whose employees were not subject to 5 U.S.C. 6329 must certify, at the time the employee is hired in a position subject to 5 U.S.C. 6329, whether or not that former agency provided entitlement to an equivalent disabled veteran leave benefit to be used in connection with the medical treatment of a service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more. The employee must certify the date he or she commenced the period of eligibility to use disabled veteran leave in the former agency.

(2) If 12 months have elapsed since the commencing date referenced in paragraph (e)(1) of this section, the employee will be considered to have received the full amount of an equivalent benefit and no benefit may be provided under this subpart.

(3) If the employee is still within the 12-month period that began on the commencing date referenced in paragraph (e)(1) of this section, the employee must certify the number of hours of disabled veteran leave used at the former agency. The gaining agency must offset the number of hours of disabled veteran leave to be credited to the employee by the number of such hours used by the employee at such agency, while making no offset under paragraph (d) of this section. If the employee had a different type of work schedule at the former agency, the hours used at the former agency must be converted before applying the offset, consistent with § 630.1305(c).

(a) An employee may use disabled veteran leave only for the medical treatment of a qualifying service-connected disability. The medical treatment may include a period of rest, but only if such period of rest is specifically ordered by the health care provider as part of a prescribed course of treatment for the qualifying service-connected disability.

(b)(1) An employee must file an application—written, oral, or electronic, as required by the agency—to use disabled veteran leave. The application must include a personal self-certification by the employee that the requested leave will be (or was) used for purposes of being furnished medical treatment for a qualifying service-connected disability. The application must also include the specific days and hours of absence required for the treatment. The application must be submitted within such time limits as the agency may require.

(2) An employee must request approval to use disabled veteran leave in advance unless the need for leave is critical and not foreseeable—e.g., due to a medical emergency or the unexpected availability of an appointment for surgery or other critical treatment. The employee must provide notice within a reasonable period of time appropriate to the circumstances involved. If the agency determines that the need for leave is critical and not foreseeable and that the employee is unable to provide advance notice of his or her need for leave, the leave may not be delayed or denied.

(c)(1) When an employee did not provide the agency with certification of a qualifying service-connected disability before having a period of absence for treatment of such disability, the employee is entitled to substitute approved disabled veteran leave retroactively for such period of absence (excluding periods of suspension or absence without leave (AWOL), but including leave without pay, sick leave, annual leave, compensatory time off, or other paid time off) in the 12-month eligibility period. Such retroactive substitution cancels the use of the original leave or paid time off and requires appropriate adjustments. In the case of retroactive substitution for a period when an employee used advanced annual leave or advanced sick leave, the adjustment is a liquidation of the leave indebtedness covered by the substitution.

(2) An agency may require an employee to submit the medical certification described in § 630.1307(a) before approving such retroactive substitution.

(a) In addition to the employee's self-certification required under § 630.1306(b)(1), an agency may additionally require that the use of disabled veteran leave be supported by a signed written medical certification issued by a health care provider.

(b) When an agency requires a signed written medical certification by a health care provider, the agency may specify that the certification include—

(1) A statement by the health care provider that the medical treatment is for one or more service-connected disabilities of the employee that resulted in 30 percent or more disability rating;

(2) The date or dates of treatment or, if the treatment extends over several days, the beginning and ending dates of the treatment;

(3) If the leave was not requested in advance, a statement that the treatment required was of an urgent nature or there were other circumstances that made advanced scheduling not possible; and

(4) Any additional information that is essential to verify the employee's eligibility.

(c)(1) An employee must provide any required written medical certification no later than 15 calendar days after the date the agency requests such medical certification, except as otherwise allowed under paragraph (c)(2) of this section.

(2) If the agency determines it is not practicable under the particular circumstances for the employee to provide the requested medical certification within 15 calendar days after the date requested by the agency despite the employee's diligent, good faith efforts, the employee must provide the medical certification within a reasonable period of time under the circumstances involved, but no later than 30 calendar days after the date the agency requests such documentation.

(3) An employee who does not provide the required evidence or medical certification within the specified time period is not entitled to use disabled veteran leave, and the agency may, as appropriate and consistent with applicable laws and regulations—

(i) Charge the employee as absent without leave (AWOL); or

(ii) Allow the employee to request that the absence be charged to leave without pay, sick leave, annual leave, or other forms of paid time off.

(a) Disabled veteran leave not used during the 12-month eligibility period may not be carried over to subsequent years and must be forfeited.

(b) If a change in the employee's disability rating during the 12-month eligibility period causes the employee to no longer have a qualifying service-connected disability (as described in § 630.1304(d)), any unused disabled veteran leave to the employee's credit as of the effective date of the rating change must be forfeited.

(c) When an employee with a positive disabled veteran leave balance transfers between positions in different agencies, or transfers from the United States Postal Service or Postal Regulatory Commission to a position in another agency, during the 12-month eligibility period, the agency from which the employee transfers must certify the number of unused disabled veteran leave hours available for credit by the gaining agency. The losing agency must also certify the expiration date of the employee's 12-month eligibility period to the gaining agency. Any unused disabled veteran leave will be forfeited at the end of that eligibility period. For the purpose of this paragraph, the term “transfers” means movement from a position in one agency (or the United States Postal Service or Postal Regulatory Commission) to a position in another agency without a break in employment of 1 workday or more in circumstances where service in both positions qualifies as employment under this subpart.

(d)(1) An employee covered by this subpart, or an employee of the United States Postal Service or Postal Regulatory Commission, with a balance of unused disabled veteran leave who has a break in employment of at least 1 workday during the employee's 12-month eligibility period, and later recommences employment covered by 5 U.S.C. 6329 within that same eligibility period, is entitled to a recredit of the unused balance.

(2) When an employee has a break in employment as described in paragraph (d)(1) of this section, the losing agency must certify the number of unused disabled veteran leave hours available for recredit by the gaining agency. The losing agency must also certify the expiration date of the employee's 12-month eligibility period. Any unused disabled veteran leave must be forfeited at the end of that eligibility period.

(3) In the absence of the certification described in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, the recredit of disabled veteran leave may also be supported by written documentation available to the employing agency in its official personnel records concerning the employee, the official records of the employee's former employing agency, copies of contemporaneous earnings and leave statement(s) provided by the employee, or copies of other contemporaneous written documentation acceptable to the agency.

(e) An employee may not receive a lump-sum payment for any unused disabled veteran leave under any circumstance.