Chapter 12

Hours of Work, Legal Holidays, and Leave

Chapter 12

Overview

Hours of Work, Legal Holidays, and Leave

Provisions on work schedules, including alternative work schedules, compressed work schedules, telecommuting, holidays, various types of leave, including family and medical leave, and the annual leave bank and voluntary transfer leave programs. Current Transmittal No: 236

Chapter 12

Active Issuances

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Legal Public Holidays 2024
Effective: Jan. 9, 2024

This issuance provides the list of all legal public holidays for calendar year 2024. This issuance also contains additional information on full-time and part-time employee schedules, and holiday premi...

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Compressed, Flexible, and Telework Schedules
Effective: Jan. 8, 2024

The District Government offers its employees alternative work scheduling and telework options. Depending on the agency's needs, employees at agencies with established alternative work schedules or...

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Use or Lose 2023
Effective: Nov. 22, 2023

This issuance serves as a reminder that District government employees may not carry over more than 240 hours of annual leave or more than 40 hours of universal leave beyond January 13, 2024. Employees...

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Paid Family and Medical Leave Program
Effective: Jan. 1, 2023

The District of Columbia government provides its employees with paid leave to address both planned and unplanned life events without risking their financial well-being. Eligible employees may access u...

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Human Monkeypox Virus (MPX): HR Guidance
Effective: Aug. 15, 2022

To support the wellbeing of our workforce regarding the monkeypox virus (MPX) in our region, the District government has established an activity code to track the District government's response to the...

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Reasonable Accommodation of Religious Observance or Practice (March 2022)
Effective: March 22, 2022

The D.C. Department of Human Resources promotes workforce diversity and fosters an inclusive work environment as part of its equal employment opportunity commitments. As part of these commitments, DCH...

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Marijuana and District Government Employees
Effective: Feb. 11, 2021

In the District of Columbia, eligible individuals may use marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes. As a result, the District government recognizes the need to review, clarify, and update exi...

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Severe Weather and Declared Emergencies
Effective: Feb. 2, 2021

From time to time, emergencies arise that impact government operations. These emergencies could include severe weather, natural disasters, or manmade disasters. In response, the Mayor may declare an e...

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Administrative Leave for COVID-19 Vaccinations
Effective: Jan. 27, 2021

The District government continues to battle COVID-19 and continues to make progress with its COVID-19 vaccine distribution planning. To promote the health and wellness of our employees and residents, ...

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Overtime
Effective: Jan. 7, 2021

The District government strives to provide all employees compensation that is competitive with the regional market and in accordance with federal and District of Columbia law. When public business nec...

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Family and Medical Leave (2020 Update)
Effective: Aug. 25, 2020

The District of Columbia government provides employees with an opportunity to attend to a family or medical-related need by using leave under the federal and District of Columbia Family and Medical Le...

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Voting in Presidential and Local Primaries and the General Election
Effective: Jan. 25, 2020

As in previous years, this issuance serves to remind and encourage all District government employees to exercise their right to vote during the upcoming primary and general elections. In addition, thi...

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Supporting Victims and Survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Offenses, and Stalking and Their Family Members
Effective: Oct. 3, 2019

NOTE:This issuance supersedes DPM Issuance 2018-24, Supporting Victims and Survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking, issued on December 31, 2018. The District government strives...

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Creditable Service for Board and Commission Employees
Effective: Feb. 27, 2019

This opinion letter concerns creditable service for Board and Commission Employees and can be found in the attachment below....

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Leave Restrictions
Effective: June 5, 2018

The District government provides its employees a competitive benefits package that includes a generous leave package. Most employees make proper use of unscheduled leave in order to tend to emergencie...

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Annual Leave
Effective: April 21, 2018

The District government is committed to the health and wellness of all its employees. As part of this commitment, the District government provides an annual leave benefit to be used for periods of res...

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Credit for Federal Government and Military Service
Effective: March 29, 2017

NOTE: This instruction supersedes I-12-43, Leave Entitlements in Movements from the Federal Government to the District Government; and Leave Entitlements of Individuals with Prior Federal/Military Ser...

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Essential and Emergency Employees
Effective: Jan. 4, 2017

NOTE: This DPM instruction supersedes DPM Instruction No. 12-53 (same subject), dated September 12, 2014, to reiterate the procedural guidance concerning employees occupying essential and emergency po...

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Sick Leave
Effective: May 25, 2015

The District government is committed to the health and wellness of all its employees. As part of this commitment, the District government provides a sick leave benefit to be used for medical appointme...

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Volunteering With Serve DC
Effective: Feb. 9, 2015

The District of Columbia Government strives to encourage its employees to volunteer in the community we serve. In this effort this instruction seeks to provide the guidance and policy for granting lea...

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District Government Employees Called to Active Military Duty
Effective: Dec. 23, 2008

NOTE: This District Personnel Manual (DPM) instruction supersedes DPM Instruction No.12-29, same subject, dated May 11, 2005, for the purpose of making a change to the provision on health benefits aff...

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Issuance of Revised D.C. Standard Form No. 1199, Request for Advance Leave or Leave Without Pay
Effective: Oct. 17, 2008

The purpose of this District Personnel Manual (DPM) instruction is to issue an updated D.C. Standard Form (DCSF) 1199, Request for Advance Leave or Leave Without Pay. ...

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Impact of Extended Leave Without Pay (LWOP) and Other Non-Pay Status on Employee Benefits/Programs
Effective: July 28, 2008

The purpose of this District Personnel Manual (DPM) instruction is to provide information on periods of leave without pay (LWOP) and other non-pay status that do not impact employee's creditable servi...

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Leave Procedures for Organ and Bone Marrow Donors
Effective: June 30, 2008

NOTE: This instruction supersedes DPM Instruction No. 12-19, Leave Procedures Under the Organ and Bone Marrow Donor Leave Amendment Act of 2002, dated October 11, 2002. The reason the instruction is b...

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Chapter 12

Provisions

1201 Statutory Authority and Applicability
1202 Delegation of Authority
1203 Establishment of Workweeks
1204 Establishment of Scheduled Tours of Duty
1205 Variations in Work Schedules for Educational Purposes
1206 Variations in Work Schedules for Religious Observances
1207 Travel on Official Time
1208 Alternative Work Schedules
1209 Flexible Work Schedule
1210 Compressed Work Schedule
1211 Telework
1212 Rest and Lunch Periods
1213 Changes in Scheduled Tours of Duty
1220 Legal Public Holidays
1221 Entitlement to Holidays
1222 Determining Holidays
1223 Effect of Holidays
1224 Legal Private Holiday
1227 General Provisions for Annual and Sick Leave
1228 Entitlement to Accrue Annual and Sick Leave
1229 Annual Leave, Sick Leave, Leave Without Pay, and Absence Without Leave - General
1230 Repayment of Advanced Annual or Advanced Sick Leave
1231 Transfer and Re-credit of Annual and Sick Leave
1232 Accrual of Annual Leave
1233 Annual Leave Accrual - Qualifying Service
1234 Annual Leave - Qualifying Period
1235 Annual Leave - Granting
1237 Annual Leave - Advancing
1238 Annual Leave - Maximum Accumulation
1239 Annual Leave - Restoration
1240 Payment for Annual Leave
1241 Accrual of Sick Leave
1242 Sick Leave - Granting
1243 Sick Leave - Advancing
1244 Unscheduled Leave and Leave Restriction
1245 FLSA Compensatory Time - Accruing
1246 FLSA Compensatory Time - Granting
1247 Payment for FLSA Compensation Time
1248 Exempt Time Off
1250 Annual Leave Bank - General
1251 Establishing and Operating Annual Leave Banks
1252 Application to Become a Leave Donor and Leave Bank Member
1253 Application to Become a Leave Recipient
1254 Approval of Application to Become a Leave Recipient
1255 Crediting Annual Leave Bank Hours
1256 Use of Leave Withdrawn from a Leave Bank
1257 Termination of Medical Emergencies
1258 Records and Reports
1259 Excused Absence in Connection with Serving as a Bone Marrow or Organ Donor
1260 Absence for Maternity Reasons
1261 Funeral and Family Bereavement Leave
1262 Military Leave
1263 Court Leave
1264 Jury Service
1265 Witness Service
1266 Administrative Leave
1267 Leave Without Pay
1268 Absence Without Leave
1270 Declared Emergencies - In General
1271 Declared Emergencies - Emergency and Essential Employees
1272 Declared Emergencies - Early Dismissals
1273 Declared Emergencies - Late Arrival, Unscheduled Leave, or Unscheduled Telework Policy
1274 Declared Emergencies - Shut-Down
1279 Accrued Sick and Safe Leave
1280 Parental Leave
1281 Family and Medical Leave
1282 Voluntary Leave Transfer Program
1283 Government Family Leave Program - General Provisions
1284 Government Family Leave Program - Eligibility
1285 Government Family Leave Program - Application
1286 Government Family Leave Program - Protections and Limitations
1287 Government Family Leave Program - Premium Pay
1288 Government Family Leave Program - Misuse of Paid Family Leave
1299 Definitions
- Addendum

Hours of Work, Legal Holidays, and Leave


1201     Statutory Authority and Applicability


1201.1    The statutory authority for this chapter is Title XII of the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 (CMPA), effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2- 139; D.C. Official Code §§ 1-612.01, et seq. (2006 Repl. & 2011 Supp.)).

1201.2    The provisions in this chapter shall apply to all District government employees except the following:

  1. Employees in the Executive Service appointed under the authority of Title X-A of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-610.51 et seq.) (2006);
  2. Uniformed members of the Metropolitan Police Department and the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department;
  3. Members of a board or commission whose pay is fixed under section 1108 of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-611.08) (2006); and
  4. Educational Service employees of the Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia appointed under the authority of section 801-A of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-608.01a) (2006).

1201.3    The provisions of a collective bargaining agreement shall take precedence over the provisions of this chapter for those employees covered by such an agreement, to the extent that there is a difference.


1202     Delegation of Authority


1202.1    Whenever in this chapter it is provided that a decision may be made or an action may be taken by “the Mayor,” an “agency head,” the “Director, D.C. Department of Human Resources,” a “personnel authority,” or “another designated official,” the authority to make such a decision or take such an action may be delegated to a designee, unless specifically indicated otherwise.


1203     Establishment of Workweeks


1203.1    An agency head shall establish the following with respect to each group of full-time employees to whom this chapter applies:

  1. A basic workweek of forty (40) hours that does not extend over more than six (6) of any seven (7) consecutive calendar days; and, except as provided in section 1203.2 of this section, the calendar days constituting the basic workweek and the number of hours of employment for each calendar day included within the basic workweek shall be specified; and
  2. A scheduled tour of duty that consists of the forty-hour (40-hour) basic workweek established in accordance with section 1203.1 (a) of this section, plus any period of overtime work regularly required of each group of employees; and, except as provided in section 1203.2 of this section, for purposes of leave and overtime pay administration, the calendar days and number of hours a day of the periods included in the scheduled tour of duty that do not constitute a part of the basic workweek shall be specified.

1203.2    The scheduled tour of duty shall be the total number of regularly scheduled hours of duty a week, including standby time, and excluding time allowed for sleep and meals.

1203.3    An agency head may provide for the allowance of a specific number of hours out of each twenty-four (24) hours at the official duty station for sleep and meals; however, the time allowed for sleep and meals need not be specifically identified.

1203.4    An employee who works two (2) shifts that begin within the same twenty-four hour (24-hour) period in the basic workweek shall be paid for two (2) days of work at the regular basic pay rate – the first (1st) shift being counted as of the day on which it begins and the second (2nd) shift as of the day on which it ends.

1203.5    The occurrence of holidays shall not affect the designation of the basic workweek.


1204     Establishment of Scheduled Tours of Duty


1204.1    Agencies shall establish scheduled tours of duty consistent with the provisions of Subsection 1204.2 of this section, except when the Mayor determines that an agency would be seriously handicapped in carrying out its functions, or that costs would be substantially increased, and mandates an alternative work schedule as provided in Section 1208 of this chapter.

1204.2    The following provisions shall apply to the establishment of scheduled tours of duty:

  1. Assignments to tours of duty shall be scheduled in advance over periods of not less than one (1) week;
  2. Except when an alternative work schedule has been approved as provided in Section 1208 of this chapter:
    1. The basic forty-hour (40-hour) workweek shall be scheduled on five (5) days, Monday through Friday when possible, and the two (2) days outside the basic workweek shall be consecutive;
    2. The working hours in each day in the basic workweek shall be the same; and
    3. The basic non-overtime workday shall not exceed eight (8) hours;
  3. The occurrence of holidays shall not affect the designation of the scheduled tour of duty;
  4. Breaks in working hours of more than one (1) hour shall not be scheduled during the working hours of a basic workday, except when a flexible work schedule has been approved as provided in Section 1209 of this chapter;
  5. As specified in section 1212 of this chapter, and with the exceptions noted in that section, a lunch period shall be provided;
  6. For a part-time employee, a scheduled tour of duty shall consist of the officially prescribed days and hours within the administrative workweek during which the employee is required to be on duty regularly;
  7. The work schedule of an employee who also serves as a member of a board or commission may be established to accommodate attendance at official meetings; and
  8. Agencies shall make every reasonable effort to schedule tours of duty of an employee who is a member of a reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces, as defined in section 1262.1 of this chapter, to avoid any conflict with his or her attendance at evening or weekend drills.

1204.3    An agency may require an employee to work overtime hours in addition to his or her scheduled tour of duty.


1205     Variations in Work Schedules for Educational Purposes


1205.1    This section applies to training, whether or not it is provided in accordance with Chapter 13 of these regulations.

1205.2    Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1203.1 of this chapter, an agency head may authorize an employee to work a tour of duty of not less than forty (40) hours in order to permit the employee to take one (1) or more courses in a college, university, or other educational institution when all of the following conditions are met:

  1. The tour of duty will not appreciably interfere with the accomplishment of the work required to be performed;
  2. The agency’s cost is not substantially increased by allowing the employee to take the course or courses; and
  3. Completion of the course or courses is related to the employee’s position, and would equip the employee for more effective work in the District government.

1205.3    Employees who have been granted a variation in the tour of duty for educational purposes shall not be entitled to premium pay where the variation in tour of duty has resulted in the employee’s tour of duty occurring at a time of day for which premium pay would otherwise be payable.

1205.4    In every case where an employee has been granted a change in their tour of duty for educational purposes, the employee shall be required to sign a statement acknowledging the conditions of the change in tour including the forfeiture of premium pay in accordance with the conditions set forth in 1205.3 of this section.

1205.5    A tour of duty for educational purposes may not be established if it would cause a supervisor to become entitled to premium pay because the supervisor's schedule must be changed so as to provide supervision of the employee.

1205.6    A variation in an employee’s change in tour of duty for educational reasons may be rescinded by the agency head whenever the variation has resulted in the employee’s failure to accomplish the work in the office or for other reasons within the discretion of the agency head.

1205.7    Whenever an agency determines that the variation of the tour of duty is to be rescinded, the employee shall be given where practicable at least one week’s notice of the rescission.

1205.8    The variation in tour of duty for educational purposes shall be rescinded at the completion of the training program and upon notice by the employee that the course or training has been completed. The employee shall return to the tour of duty that existed prior to receiving the educational variation unless such tour has been changed by the employee’s supervisor.

1205.9    Failure of an employee to inform the supervisor of the completion of or discontinuation of the training or course so that the regularly established tour can be re-established shall result in the forfeiture of the employee’s opportunity to receive future variations and where appropriate will result in disciplinary action.


1206     Variations in Work Schedules for Religious Observances


1206.1    Pursuant to section 701 (b) through (f) of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-607.01 (b) through (f)) (2006), and notwithstanding the provisions of section 1203.1 of this chapter, and to the extent that a variation in a work schedule does not result in a substantial disruption of District government business, an employee whose personal religious beliefs require that he or she abstain from working at certain times of the workday or workweek shall be entitled to reasonable accommodation for the free exercise of religion.

1206.2    The accommodation to be provided may include an adjustment in the work schedule when the employee elects to make up the time off rather than to charge the time off to leave.

1206.3    If the need to take the time off for religious reasons is foreseeable, the employee shall request an adjustment of his or her work schedule as provided in section 1206.2 of this section and obtain supervisory approval of the adjustment at least ten (10) days before taking time off from work.

1206.4    A request to adjust the employee’s work schedule may be disapproved if it is demonstrated that the adjustment would clearly interfere with the efficient conduct of the activities of the employing agency.

1206.5    Nothing in this section shall be construed to totally exempt an employee from being required to work rotating shifts including working on weekends as a result of religious preferences.

1206.6    Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the use of other forms of leave authorized by this chapter.

1206.7    Each personnel authority shall provide written notice to an employee, at the time that the employee accepts employment that he or she may receive the religious accommodation described in section 1206.1 of this section.


1207     Travel on Official Time


1207.1    Insofar as practicable, travel during non-duty hours shall not be required of an employee.

1207.2    When an employee is required to travel outside of his or her regularly scheduled administrative workweek, the employee is to be given overtime compensation in accordance with the conditions for determining “hours of employment” in section 1207.3 of this section.

1207.3    In determining “hours of employment” for purposes of entitlement to overtime compensation, time spent in travel status away from an employee’s official duty station shall be deemed to be “hours of employment” only when any one (1) or more of the following is true:

  1. The travel takes place within the days and hours of the employee’s scheduled tour of duty, including regular overtime work; or
  2. If the hours are outside of the employee’s regularly scheduled administrative workweek, is ordered or approved, and meets any of the following conditions:
    1. The travel involves the performance of work while traveling;
    2. The travel is incidental to travel that involves performance of actual work while traveling;
    3. The travel is carried out under such arduous and unusual conditions which make the travel inseparable from work; or
    4. The travel results from an event that could not be scheduled or controlled administratively.


1208     Alternative Work Schedules


1208.1    An alternative work schedule, as defined in Section 1299 of this chapter, is inclusive of:

  1. A flexible work schedule, pursuant to Section 1209; and
  2. A compressed work schedule, pursuant to Section 1210.

1208.2    The Mayor may establish a mandatory alternative work schedule, as provided in Subsection 1204.1.

1208.3    Pursuant to Section 1201(e) of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.01(e) (2014 Repl.)), an agency director may establish an alternative work schedule for employees when such a work schedule is considered practicable and feasible and the costs of the agency will not be substantially increased.

1208.4    Employee participation in an alternative work schedule established by an agency director shall be voluntary.

1208.5    An alternative work schedule, if established, must be offered on an equal basis to all agency employees who are in substantially similar positions.

1208.6    An agency head’s decision to exclude classes of positions from participating in an alternative work schedule shall be final and not subject to appeal or grievance.

1208.7    The basic requirements for establishing an alternative work schedule shall be as follows:

  1. The basic forty (40)-hour workweek may be scheduled on fewer than five (5) days;
  2. The working hours in each day of the basic workweek need not be the same; and
  3. The basic non-overtime workday may exceed eight (8) hours.

1208.8    Independent agencies may develop an alternative work schedule policy that differs from the provisions in Section 1208 through 1210 of this chapter.


1209     Flexible Work Schedule


1209.1    Pursuant to Section 1201(e) of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.01(e) (2014 Repl.)), a flexible work schedule may be established by an agency for employees when:

  1. Such a work schedule is considered both practicable and feasible in terms of increased employee morale, increased productivity, and improved service to the public; and
  2. Agency management determines that the schedule will not have an adverse impact on service to the public, and that costs to the agency will not increase substantially.

1209.2    A flexible work schedule, as defined in Section 1299 of this chapter, allows an employee to determine his or her own schedule within designated hours set by the employing agency, subject to certain core hours set by the agency during which the employee must work.

1209.3    The basic requirements for a flexible work schedule shall include the following:

  1. The designation of core hours during which all employees are required to be present, except for authorized lunch periods;
  2. The designation of flexible time periods during which the employee has the option of selecting and varying his or her starting and end time but such flexible time periods may not commence prior to 6:00 a.m., nor end after 6:00 p.m.;
  3. The maintenance of accurate time and attendance controls must be in place to ensure that each employee works or otherwise accounts for eight (8) hours per day, five (5) days per week; and
  4. Prior approval must be obtained by the agency head or the appropriate personnel authority before an employee may participate in a flexible work schedule.


1210     Compressed Work Schedule


1210.1    Pursuant to Section XII of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.01 (2014 Repl.)), a compressed work schedule may be established by an agency for employees when:

  1. Such a work schedule is considered both practicable and feasible in terms of increased employee morale, increased productivity, and improved service to the public; and
  2. If agency management determines that the schedule will not have an adverse impact on public service, and that costs will not increase substantially.

1210.2    A compressed work schedule, as defined in Section 1299 of this chapter, allows a full-time or part-time employee to work an eighty (80)-hour biweekly schedule or a less than eighty (80)-hour biweekly schedule, respectively, in fewer than ten (10) workdays.

1210.3    In accordance with Section 6 of the 2004 District of Columbia Omnibus Authorization Act, approved October 30, 2004 (Pub. L. 108-386, 118 Stat. 2228; D.C. Official Code § 1-510), an employee shall not be eligible earn overtime during his or her regular tour of duty in a compressed work schedule even if such tour of duty exceeds eight (8) hours.

1210.4    The tour of duty for each employee under a compressed work schedule program shall be defined by a fixed schedule established by the agency.

1210.5    Unless otherwise approved by the personnel authority, the established work schedule of an employee under a compressed work schedule program may not exceed ten (10) hours for any workday.


1211     Telework


1211.1    Telework is an arrangement in which an employee routinely, during a declared emergency (if directed to do so), or in situational cases as specified in this section, performs officially assigned duties at his or her home address of record.

1211.2    Based on the needs of the organization, and to the extent possible without diminishing employee performance, each agency is authorized to establish telework for eligible employees of the agency, except as provided in Subsection 1211.12.

1211.3    Telework, as provided in this section, must be offered on an equal basis to all agency employees who are in substantially similar positions.

1211.4    Telework shall be part of a scheduled tour of duty, subject to a written agreement between the agency and employee, and only permitted after an employee has completed any telework training required by the District of Columbia Department of Human Resources.

1211.5    Requests to engage in telework must:

  1. Be signed by the employee;
  2. Be approved in writing and in advance by the employee’s supervisor and the agency head (or his or her designee); and
  3. Verify that the position, during the period which an employee will telework, and the telework arrangement comply with the conditions set forth in Subsection 1211.7 of this section.

1211.6    Unless otherwise approved by the agency head and personnel authority, an employee shall be limited to two (2) days per workweek of telework.

1211.7    Positions best suited for telework are those that:

  1. Have job tasks that are quantifiable, primarily project-oriented or case-work-oriented, telephone intensive, or computer-oriented; or have work activities that can be accommodated working away from the current work location with equal efficiency as if being performed at the official work site;
  2. Do not require daily unscheduled face-to-face contact with other employees, supervisors, or the public in the current work location; and
  3. Allow meetings to be scheduled without inconveniencing or impairing the performance of co-workers.

1211.8    An employee, who has been approved in writing to telework, may periodically request authorization to utilize situational telework on a temporary basis for the following circumstances:

  1. When an employee has a short-term need for uninterrupted time to complete work on a complex project or report. In such cases, the employee must provide twelve (12)-hour advance written notification to his or her immediate supervisor, and obtain the written approval from the immediate supervisor and agency head (or his or her designee);
  2. When an employee is recovering from an illness or an injury and is temporarily unable to physically report to his or her official work site, but is physically and mentally able to perform his or her official duties from a remote location. When possible, the employee must provide a twenty-four (24) hour advance written notice and must in all circumstances obtain approval from his or her immediate supervisor; or
  3. When, due to the occurrence of a home repair emergency, the employee is prevented from reporting to his or her official work site.

1211.9    An employee’s use of situational telework as provided in Subsections 1211.8(a) through (c), shall not exceed three (3) consecutive workdays.

1211.10  Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsections 1211.8(a) through (c), and on a case-by-case basis, an agency head may authorize the use of situational telework in other circumstances.

1211.11  An employee’s approval and use of situational telework, as provided in Subsections 1211.8(a) through (c) of this section, is at the discretion and approval of the agency head or the employee’s immediate supervisor.

1211.12  An employee shall not be eligible to participate in telework as provided in this section if:

  1. The employee’s performance rating for the most recent rating period is Marginal Performer (Level 2) (or equivalent) or lower as provided in Chapter 14 of these regulations; or
  2. The employee is on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) as provided in Chapter 14.

1211.13  Authorization to engage in telework, as provided in this section, may be rescinded by the agency head (or designee) or the immediate supervisor for reasons that include, but are not limited to, a determination that the employee has failed to accomplish the work as prescribed or due to the agency’s organizational or operational needs.

1211.14  Whenever an agency head (or designee) or immediate supervisor determines that the approval for telework is to be rescinded pursuant to Subsection 1211.13 of this section, the employee shall be given, where practicable, at least two (2) weeks’ notice prior to the rescission.

1211.15  Upon termination of a telework agreement, the employee shall return to the duty station and tour of duty that existed prior to receiving approval to engage in telework, unless the duty station or tour of duty has been changed by the employee’s supervisor in accordance with applicable rules.

1211.16  Failure of an employee to return to his or her original duty station with the same tour of duty upon rescission of an authorization to engage in telework, shall result in the forfeiture of the employee’s opportunity to engage in telework for a period of three (3) years and, if appropriate, may result in disciplinary action.

1211.17  [Repealed]

1211.18  The D.C. Department of Human Resources shall conduct periodic audits of subordinate agency telework programs for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the District’s personnel regulations and human resource procedures. The audit may also cover PeopleSoft actions that the agency inputs relative to telework.


1212     Rest and Lunch Periods


1212.1    At the discretion of an agency head, a rest period of fifteen (15) minutes during each four (4) hour period of work may be authorized.

  1. Rest periods for an individual employee or small groups of employees are authorized whenever such rest period would accomplish one (1) or more of the following purposes:
    1. Protect employees’ health by providing relief from hazardous work or work that requires continuous or considerable physical exertion;
    2. Reduce accident rates by removing the potential for fatigue;
    3. Provide relief from work that is performed in confined spaces where normal personal activities are restricted; or
    4. Increase or maintain high quality and quantity work product;
  2. When rest periods with a specific duration (such as, fifteen (15) minutes as specified in subsection 1212.1(a) of this section) are offered, they are to be considered as compensable work hours as part of the employee’s regularly scheduled duty hours. The unauthorized extension of a rest period with a specific duration shall not be counted as hours worked; and
  3. Rest periods shall not be utilized by an employee to expand his or her regularly scheduled lunch period of thirty (30) minutes by permitting the employee to take his or her rest periods immediately before or immediately after the employee’s scheduled lunch period.

1212.2    A lunch period of at least thirty (30) minutes shall be provided to employees, except for an employee required to remain at his or her official duty station so that the agency can provide twenty-four (24) hour coverage, in which case, the employee shall be compensated.

1212.3    An employee’s thirty (30)-minute lunch period shall be in addition to his or her regularly scheduled duty hours. That is, a bona fide lunch period shall not be considered as work time and is not compensable. For that reason, the thirty-minute (30-minute) lunch period shall be added to the employee’s regularly scheduled duty hours.

1212.4    At the discretion of the supervisor, an employee who wants to take a one-hour (1-hour) lunch period may be allowed to add the extra half (½) hour to his or her regularly scheduled duty hours to account for the extra non-compensable time for lunch. For example, instead of working from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (for example, eight (8) hours of compensable work time plus a thirty-minute (30-minute) lunch period), the employee may be allowed to work until 5:00 p.m. (for example., eight (8) hours of compensable work time plus a one-hour (1-hour) lunch period). Lunch periods of more than one (1) hour shall not be permitted.

1212.5    The lunch period is separate and distinct from a rest period.

1212.6    An employee shall not be authorized to depart work in order to either begin a period of leave or in order to end the employee’s official tour of duty because he or she refrained from taking a scheduled rest or lunch period.


1213     Changes in Scheduled Tours of Duty


1213.1    Scheduled tours of duty in effect when these regulations become effective shall remain in effect until action is taken in accordance with these regulations to implement a change.


1220     Legal Public Holidays


1220.1    Pursuant to section 1202(a) of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.02 (a) (2011 Supp.)) the following days are legal public holidays for District government employees covered by this chapter:

  1. New Year’s Day, January 1 st of each year;
  2. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday, the third (3rd) Monday in January of each year;
  3. Washington’s Birthday, the third (3rd) Monday in February of each year;
  4. Memorial Day, the last Monday in May of each year;
  5. Independence Day, July 4th of each year;
  6. Labor Day, the first (1st) Monday in September of each year;
  7. Columbus Day, the second (2nd) Monday in October of each year;
  8. Veterans Day, November 11th of each year;
  9. Thanksgiving Day, the fourth (4th) Thursday in November of each year;
  10. Christmas Day, December 25th of each year; and
  11. Beginning in the year 2007, District of Columbia Emancipation Day, April 16th of each year.

1220.2    Pursuant to section 1202 (c)(1)of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.02 (c)1)) (2006), January 20 of each year following the year in which a Presidential election is held, Inauguration Day, shall be a legal public holiday for all employees scheduled to work on that day. When January 20 of any such year falls on a Sunday, the next succeeding day selected for the public observance of the inauguration of the President shall be a legal public holiday for all employees scheduled to work on that day.

1220.3    The rules for determining holidays contained in section 1222 of this chapter shall not apply to Inauguration Day.

1220.4    In addition to the legal public holidays set forth in sections 1220.1 and 1220.2 of this section, the Mayor may designate other days or portions of a day as legal public holidays.

1220.5    There shall be no official observance of religious holidays except those that are also legal public holidays.

1220.6    An employee whose personal religious beliefs require him or her to abstain from working during certain periods of time shall be entitled to reasonable accommodation as provided in section 1206 of this chapter or, at his or her request, may be granted annual leave, compensatory time, or leave without pay, as appropriate.


1221     Entitlement to Holidays


1221.1    Each full-time employee, and each part-time employee with a scheduled tour of duty, except student employees paid by stipend, shall be entitled to holidays as provided in section 1222 of this chapter.


1222     Determining Holidays


1222.1    Pursuant to section 1202 (b) of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.02 (b)) (2006), in-lieuof holidays shall be determined as follows for purposes of pay and leave:

  1. Whenever a legal public holiday falls on a workday in the basic workweek of Monday through Friday, that workday shall be the holiday;
  2. Whenever a legal public holiday falls on a nonworkday of a basic workweek of Monday through Friday, the holiday shall be the Monday immediately following a legal public holiday occurring on Sunday, or the Friday immediately preceding a legal public holiday occurring on a Saturday;
  3. When a legal public holiday falls on a nonworkday in a workweek that is other than Monday through Friday, the holiday shall be determined as follows:
    1. If the legal public holiday falls on the first or only nonworkday of the administrative workweek, the holiday shall be the day before the legal public holiday; and
    2. If the legal public holiday falls on the second or subsequent nonworkday of the administrative workweek, the holiday shall be the first scheduled workday following the legal public holiday.
  4. For a part-time employee, whenever a legal public holiday falls on a workday within the employee’s scheduled tour of duty, that shall be the holiday;
  5. For a part-time employee, whenever a legal public holiday falls on a nonworkday for that employee, he or she shall not be entitled to a holiday;
  6. When a legal public holiday falls on an employee’s workday that covers two (2) calendar days, he or she shall be excused from work on the entire workday that begins on the calendar day of the legal public holiday; and
  7. An employee who has two (2) regular tours of duty, both beginning on a holiday, shall be excused from work on the first tour of duty that begins on the holiday.

1222.2    The Director, D.C. Department of Human Resources, shall issue a holiday schedule annually. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to alter any holiday schedule or “in-lieuof” schedule issued by the Director, D.C. Department of Human Resources, prior to the effective date of these regulations.


1223     Effect of Holidays


1223.1    The occurrence of a legal public holiday shall not affect the designation of the basic workweek.

1223.2    An employee who is excused from duty on a holiday shall be entitled to the same pay for that day as for a day on which an ordinary day’s work is performed.

1223.3    An agency head may, within his or her discretion, include a holiday within the hours of duty or regular workweek of employees and require them to work on that day.

1223.4    An employee who is required to work on a holiday as specified in section 1223.3 of this section, but whose absence is approved by the agency, shall be charged sick leave, annual leave, or leave without pay, as appropriate.

1223.5    An employee who is required to work on a holiday as specified in section 1223.3 of this section, but who is inexcusably absent or refuses to work on a holiday, shall be charged with absence without leave (AWOL) for that period of absence.

1223.6    An employee under an alternative work schedule pursuant to Section 1208 of this chapter who performs work on a holiday shall be entitled to holiday premium pay as provided in Section 1132 of Chapter 11 of these regulations.

1223.7    Except as provided in section 1223.8 of this section, an employee who is not required to work on a holiday shall not be charged annual leave, compensatory time, sick leave, or LWOP for that day. An employee on annual leave, sick leave, or compensatory time for a period that includes a holiday shall not be charged annual leave, sick leave, or compensatory time for that day.

1223.8    An employee in a nonpay status the last day of a regular tour of duty immediately prior to a holiday and the first day of a regular tour of duty immediately after the holiday shall not be entitled to have his or her nonpay status changed to a pay status for that holiday unless the employee works on that holiday.


1224     Legal Private Holiday


1224.1    Pursuant to section 1202a of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.02a) (2006), a legal private holiday is a day on which any paid leave or unpaid leave provided by this chapter may be granted.


1227     General Provisions for Annual and Sick Leave


1227.1    As provided in section 1203(a) of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.03 (a) (2006 Repl.)), an employee shall be entitled to earn both annual and sick leave as provided herein, except for the following:

  1. An intermittent employee who does not have a scheduled tour of duty;
  2. An elected official; or
  3. A temporary employee appointed for less than ninety (90) days.

1227.2    The days of annual and sick leave provided by this chapter shall be days on which an employee would otherwise work and receive pay, but shall exclude holidays and nonworkdays established by statute or administrative order.

1227.3    Other than for the liquidation of advanced sick leave indebtedness as provided in section 1230.4 of this chapter, the retroactive substitution of annual leave, compensatory time, or leave without pay for sick leave shall not be authorized.


1228     Entitlement to Accrue Annual and Sick Leave


1228.1    A full-time employee:

  1. May accrue leave only when employed for a full workweek; and
  2. Shall be deemed employed for a full workweek if he or she is employed during the days within that week, exclusive of holidays and nonworkdays established by statute or administrative order, that fall within that workweek.

1228.2    A full-time employee who initially enters on duty on the first (1st) workday of a biweekly pay period shall accrue the full amount of leave to which he or she would be entitled for that biweekly pay period.

1228.3    A full-time employee who initially enters on duty after the first (1st) workday of a biweekly pay period, but not later than the first (1st) workday of the second (2nd) week of a biweekly pay period, shall accrue one-half (½) of the leave to which he or she would have been entitled for a full biweekly pay period.

1228.4    A full-time employee who initially enters on duty after the first (1st) workday of the second week of a biweekly pay period shall not be entitled to accrue leave for that biweekly pay period.

1228.5    A full-time employee who separates after the close of business on the last workday of a biweekly pay period shall accrue the full amount of leave to which he or she would be entitled for that biweekly pay period.

1228.6    A full-time employee who separates after the completion of one (1) workweek in a biweekly pay period, but prior to the close of business on the last day of a biweekly pay period, shall accrue one-half (½) of the leave to which he or she would have been entitled for a full biweekly pay period.

1228.7    A full-time employee who separates prior to the completion of the first week in a biweekly pay period shall not be entitled to accrue leave for that biweekly pay period.

1228.8    A full-time employee paid on other than a biweekly pay period basis earns leave on a pro-rata basis for a full pay period.

1228.9    Except as provided in section 1228.10 of this section, a full-time employee shall earn leave during each full biweekly pay period while in a pay status or in a combination of pay status and nonpay status.

1228.10  Whenever the number of hours of nonpay status accrued by a full-time employee during a leave year equals the number of base pay hours eighty (80) in a biweekly pay period, the employee’s accrued leave shall immediately be reduced by the amount of annual and sick leave accruals the employee earns during one (1) biweekly pay period.

1228.11  For the purpose of determining reduction of leave credits under this section when a full-time employee has one (1) or more breaks in service during the leave year, the agency shall include all hours in a nonpay status for each period of service during the leave year in which the leave accrued.

1228.12  When a reduction in leave credits results in a debit to a full-time employee’s leave account at the end of a leave year, the debit shall be carried forward as a charge against the leave to be earned by the employee in the next leave year, unless the employee and the agency agree to a repayment as provided in section 1230.4 of this chapter.

1228.13  A part-time employee, unless otherwise excluded, shall be entitled to accrue annual and sick leave on a pro-rata basis.

1228.14  Hours in a pay status for which the employee would be entitled to overtime pay shall be disregarded in computing the leave earnings of a part-time employee.

1228.15  A part-time employee must serve under an established tour of duty for each of the two (2) administrative workweeks in each biweekly pay period in order to accrue leave.

1228.16  A part-time employee who completes a full biweekly pay period may carry over, from one pay period to the next, those hours of service in a pay status that do not equal the number necessary for a minimum leave accrual of one (1) hour, until sufficient service is rendered to total the hourly accrual; but if the employee changes to full-time employment status and has insufficient service credit to earn the minimum of one (1) hour, the fractional hours of service shall be lost because of the change from part-time to full-time status.


1229     Annual Leave, Sick Leave, Leave Without Pay, and Absence Without Leave - General


1229.1    The minimum charge for annual leave, sick leave, leave without pay, and absence without leave shall be one (1) hour, and additional charges shall be in multiples thereof.

1229.2    Scheduled leave means approved leave that an employee requested at least one (1) business day prior to the start of the approved leave.


1230     Repayment of Advanced Annual or Advanced Sick Leave


1230.1    Except as provided in section 1230.2 of this section, when an employee who is indebted for advanced leave is separated, the agency shall either:

  1. Require a repayment in the amount paid to the employee for the period covering the leave for which indebted; or
  2. Deduct that amount from any lump-sum leave payment, accrued wages, severance pay, other compensation, or any combination thereof, due the employee.

1230.2    Repayment of advanced leave shall be forgiven when an employee:

  1. Dies;
  2. Retires for disability under the authority of Title XXIII of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-623.01 et seq.) (2006);
  3. Resigns or is separated because of disability that prevents him or her from returning to duty or continuing in the service and is the basis of the separation as determined by the agency on acceptable medical evidence that is the kind of medical evidence customarily relied on to support such claims; or
  4. Enters on active military duty with restoration rights under 38 U.S.C. §§ 2121 or 2024.

1230.3    Any indebtedness for advanced leave remaining after application of the provisions of section 1230.1 of this section shall be a debt owed to the District government.

1230.4    Advanced sick leave may be liquidated by subsequently earned sick leave, by a charge against annual leave, or by a repayment upon separation in accordance with section 1230.1 of this section.

1230.5    An employee may, with the consent of his or her employing agency, agree to repay the agency in cash, either by lump-sum payment or by payment schedule to be completed within twentyfour (24) months of the first (1st) payment, for advanced annual or sick leave. The amount of the repayment shall be calculated at the pay rate that is in effect at the time of the repayment.

1230.6    An employee shall be deemed to have been in a pay status for the period covered by a cash payment pursuant to section 1230.4 of this section.

1230.7    If an employee is subsequently reemployed, the leave “forgiven” under section 1230.2 of this section shall not be chargeable against subsequently earned leave.

1230.8    If an employee is subsequently reemployed and had advanced leave when previously separated that was not recovered under sections 1230.1 or 1230.3 of this section, such unrecovered advanced leave shall be charged against subsequently earned leave.


1231     Transfer and Re-credit of Annual and Sick Leave


1231.1    When an employee subject to this chapter transfers between agencies, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer shall certify the employee’s annual and sick leave accounts to the employing agency for credit or charge.

1231.2    Pursuant to section 1203 (k) of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.03 (k)) (2006), a federal government employee who is hired or appointed by the District government without a break in service of more than one (1) workday, and who did not receive a lump-sum payment for annual leave upon separation from the federal service, shall be credited with the annual leave balance to his or her account at the time of separation from the federal service.

1231.3    An employee who has received a lump-sum payment for annual leave upon separation from the federal service shall be credited with a zero (0) annual leave balance upon entry into District government service.

1231.4    Pursuant to section 1203 (k) of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.03 (k)) (2006), a federal government employee who is hired or appointed by the District government without a break in service shall be credited with the sick leave balance to his or her account at the time of separation from the federal service.

1231.5    Except as provided in section 1231.7 of this section, the annual and sick leave to the credit of an employee who transfers between agencies of the District government under different leave systems without a break in service shall be transferred to his or her credit in the employing agency on the same adjusted basis as provided in section 1231.6 of this section.

1231.6    Except as provided in section 1231.7 of this section, when annual leave or sick leave is credited from a leave system that accrues leave on a basis other than that prescribed by sections 1233.1 or 1233.2 of this chapter, an employee to whom this section applies shall be credited with five (5) hours of leave for each seven (7) hours of leave accumulated under the leave system from which credited, with fractional parts of an hour being rounded up to the next whole hour.

1231.7    Annual and sick leave to the credit of a uniformed member of the Firefighting Division of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department who transfers to another agency of the District government, or to a non-uniformed division of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, shall be adjusted by dividing both the annual leave and the sick leave by one and two-tenths (1.2), with the results rounded up to the next whole hour.

1231.8    The employing agency shall have the primary responsibility for determining whether an employee is entitled to be credited with leave purportedly standing to an employee’s credit when the employee’s transfer or reemployment involves different leave systems and a recredit is otherwise appropriate.

1231.9    Pursuant to section 1203 (i) of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.03 (i)) (2006), an individual who received a lump-sum payment for annual leave upon separation from District government service, and who is reemployed by the District government prior to the end of the period covered by the lump-sum payment, shall repay the District government an amount equal to the lump-sum payment for the time between the date of reemployment and the end of the period covered by the lump-sum payment, and shall be recredited with annual leave for that period.

1231.10  When an employee is reemployed in a position under a different leave system prior to the expiration of the period for which the lump-sum leave payment has been made and the unexpired period of leave covers a larger amount of leave than can be transferred to the different leave system, the employee shall be required only to make a repayment covering the amount of re-creditable annual leave.

1231.11  No repayment shall be required when an employee is reemployed under circumstances where he or she is not entitled to accrue leave.

1231.12  An employee subject to this chapter who transfers to a position under the District of Columbia Teachers’ Leave Act shall be entitled to a lump-sum payment for unused annual leave.

1231.13  When an employee transfers to a position under a different leave system to which only a part of the employee’s sick leave can be transferred, then so much of the employee’s sick leave as was not transferred to the new leave system shall be recredited should the employee return to the leave system under which it was earned prior to the expiration of three (3) years.

1231.14  An employee who separates from District government service other than by retirement, shall have his or her sick leave account recredited, either on an hour-for-hour basis, or on an adjusted basis as provided in sections 1231.6 or 1231.7 of this section, as appropriate, if reemployed without a break in service of three (3) years or more.

1231.15  If official records specifying the amount of leave to be credited or recredited are not available, an estimate of the employee’s leave account shall be acceptable when accompanied by an official statement that contains the basis for the estimate.

1231.16  An employee who earned leave under a statute previously in force shall be entitled to re-credit of that leave under that authority, if he or she is entitled to re-credit for it, on reentering the leave system under which it was earned; however, leave already forfeited shall not be revived.

1231.17  Pursuant to section 2343 of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code §1-623.43 (2006)), an employee who has used annual leave or sick leave as a result of an injury or illness, and whose injury or illness is later determined, as provided in Chapter 23 of these regulations, to be job-related, shall be entitled to repurchase so much of that annual leave, or sick leave, or both, as he or she shall desire, at the hourly rate in effect at the time it was used, and shall have that amount of annual leave, sick leave, or both recredited.

1231.18  There shall be no limitation on the amount of either annual leave or sick leave that can be repurchased under section1231.17 of this section, but any annual leave repurchased shall be subject to the forfeiture provisions of section1239 of this chapter, and may be considered to have been administrative error for purposes of restoration under section1239 of this chapter.


1232     Accrual of Annual Leave


1232.1    Except as specified in subsection 1232.6 of this section, a full-time employee to whom this chapter applies shall earn annual leave as follows:

  1. An employee with less than three (3) years of service shall earn four (4) hours for each full biweekly pay period;
  2. An employee with three (3) but less than fifteen (15) years of service shall earn six (6) hours for each full biweekly pay period, except that the accrual for the last full biweekly pay period in the leave year shall be ten (10) hours; and
  3. An employee with fifteen (15) or more years of service shall earn eight (8) hours for each full biweekly pay period.

1232.2    Except as provided in subsections1232.5 and 1232.7 of this section, a part-time employee for whom there has been established in advance a regular tour of duty on one (1) or more days during each administrative workweek shall earn annual leave as follows:

  1. An employee with fewer than three (3) years of service shall earn one (1) hour of annual leave for each twenty (20) hours in a pay status;
  2. An employee with three (3) but fewer than fifteen (15) years of service shall earn one (1) hour of annual leave for each thirteen (13) hours in a pay status; and
  3. An employee with fifteen (15) years or more of service shall earn one (1) hour of annual leave for each ten (10) hours in a pay status.

1232.3    A change in the rate of accrual of annual leave shall take effect at the beginning of the pay period after the pay period, or corresponding period for an employee who is not paid on the basis of biweekly pay periods, in which the employee completed the prescribed period of service.

1232.4    When a full-time employee changes from the six-hour (6-hour) annual leave-earning category to the eight-hour (8-hour) category at the beginning of the last full biweekly pay period in the calendar year, his or her leave credit for that pay period shall not exceed eight (8) hours.

1232.5    A part-time employee entitled to earn annual leave shall not earn annual leave for any hours worked for which he or she is entitled to overtime compensation under Chapter 11 of these regulations.

1232.6    Except as otherwise required by law or regulation, a person who is receiving an annuity after retirement from any District government retirement system or from the District or federal government under the regular or early retirement provisions of the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), and who is subsequently employed by the District government as a full-time employee following retirement, shall earn four (4) hours of annual leave for each full biweekly pay period for the first three (3) years of post-retirement employment. The leave accrual rate shall progress to six (6) and eight (8) hours of annual leave, respectively, as specified in subsections 1232.1 (b) and (c).

1232.7    Except as otherwise required by law or regulation, a person who is receiving an annuity after retirement from any District government retirement system or from the District or federal government under the regular or early retirement provisions of the CSRS, and who is subsequently employed by the District government as a part-time employee following retirement, shall earn one (1) hour of annual leave for each twenty (20) hours in a pay status for the first three (3) years of post-retirement employment. The leave accrual rate shall progress to one (1) hour of annual leave for each thirteen (13) hours in a pay status and one (1) hour of annual leave for each ten (10) hours in a pay status, respectively, as specified in subsections 1232.2 (b) and (c).

1232.8    For the purposes of this section and section 1234 of this chapter, the terms “full-time employee” and “part-time employee” shall include full-time and part-time temporary employees; provided that the employee is serving under a temporary appointment of more than ninety (90) days.


1233     Annual Leave Accrual - Qualifying Service


1233.1    Except as described in subsections 1232.6 and 1232.7, when determining years of qualifying government service for annual leave accrual an employee shall be entitled to receive service credit for the following:

  1. Service creditable under any District government retirement system, including service creditable under the District retirement benefits programs established pursuant to Section 2605 of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-626.05 (2012 Repl.)), unless specifically prohibited by law;
  2. Service creditable under CSRS (5 U.S.C. § 8332) for the purpose of an annuity; and
  3. Military service for uniformed service members retired because of a service-related disability, as provided in Subsection 1233.2.

1233.2    An employee who is a retired member of a uniformed service as defined by 5 U.S.C. § 3501 shall be entitled to credit for active military service only if his or her retirement was based on one (1) of the two (2) following types of disabilities:

  1. A disability resulting from injury or disease received in the line of duty as a direct result of armed conflict; or
  2. A disability caused by an instrumentality of war and incurred in the line of duty during a period of war as defined by 38 U.S.C. §§ 101 and 301.

1233.3    The determination of years of service may be made on the basis of an affidavit from the employee subject to verification by the personnel authority.

1233.4    District government service prior to October 1, 1987, that is under Social Security shall be creditable for annual leave accrual purposes, and shall be purchasable for credit toward retirement under 5 U.S.C. § 8332.

1233.5    [Repealed]

1233.6    Except for the service described in Subsection 1233.1, federal government service shall not be creditable service for annual leave accrual purposes.


1234     Annual Leave - Qualifying Period


1234.1    If a temporary appointment is for less than ninety (90) days, the employee shall not be entitled to earn annual leave.

1234.2    If a temporary appointment for less than ninety (90) days is extended for an additional ninety (90) days or longer without a break in service, or if there are successive temporary appointments without a break in service that aggregate ninety (90) days or longer, then the employee shall receive retroactive credit for leave earned from the date of appointment, and shall earn leave thereafter.

1234.3    Retroactive annual leave credited, or annual leave earned thereafter as specified in section 1234.2 of this section, shall not be substituted retroactively for either compensatory time or leave without pay taken during the period described in section 1234.1 of this section.


1235     Annual Leave - Granting


1235.1    Annual leave may be used by an employee for any reason, but is intended primarily to be used for the following two (2) general purposes:

  1. To allow the employee vacation periods of extended leave every year for rest and recreation; and
  2. To provide periods of time off for personal and emergency purposes.

1235.2    Annual leave shall be requested and approved no later than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the day on which the annual leave is to be used. Employees are required to obtain approval for the use of annual leave by whichever method is formally established within his or her agency. Annual leave requested and approved at least 24 hours prior to the leave period shall constitute “scheduled annual leave;” leave approved with less than 24 hours’ notice is deemed “unscheduled annual leave” for recordkeeping purposes.

1235.3    The annual leave provided by this chapter, including annual leave that has been advanced as provided in section 1237 of this chapter, may be granted at any time during the leave year in accordance with these regulations.

1235.4    An employee is entitled to his or her annual leave, and the taking of annual leave for the purposes set forth in subsection 1235.1 of this section should be encouraged, subject to scheduling approval by the agency head.

1235.5    An approved absence that would otherwise be properly chargeable to sick leave may be charged to annual leave, compensatory time, or leave without pay, if requested in advance by the employee and approved by the agency head.


1237     Annual Leave - Advancing


1237.1    Agency heads or their subordinate supervisor designees are authorized to advance annual leave to eligible employees in advance of its accrual, in individual cases, up to the amount of annual leave expected to be earned during the balance of the current leave year or by the eligible employee’s anticipated termination date, whichever is sooner.

1237.2    In no case shall annual leave be advanced on the basis of leave expected to be earned during the succeeding leave year.

1237.3    If the reason for an employee’s request for advanced annual leave qualifies for family or medical leave under the District of Columbia Family and Medical Leave Act of 1990 (D.C. FMLA), effective October 3, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-181; D.C. Official Code §§ 32-501, et seq. (2010 Repl. & 2011 Supp.)), and provided that the employee meets the eligibility requirements of the D.C. FMLA, any advanced annual leave granted shall count towards the sixteen (16)-week maximum under the D.C. FMLA.


1238     Annual Leave - Maximum Accumulation


1238.1    Pursuant to section 1238.3 of this section, annual leave that is not used by an employee shall accumulate for use in succeeding years, except that annual leave in excess of two hundred forty (240) hours at the beginning of the first full biweekly pay period of the calendar year, or the corresponding period for an employee who is not paid on the basis of biweekly pay periods, shall be forfeited as provided in section 1238.2 of this section.

1238.2    The beginning of the first biweekly pay period in the calendar year shall be the point at which an employee’s accumulated annual leave balance is fixed, and when a determination shall be made that annual leave in excess of the maximum amount allowable under section 1238.1 of this section, as appropriate, shall be forfeited.

1238.3    Annual leave in excess of the amount allowable under this section that was accumulated under an earlier statute shall remain to the credit of the employee until used. If an employee with such credit uses more annual leave in a leave year than he or she earns:

  1. The balance carried forward shall become the new leave ceiling if it is still above the maximum accumulation allowable under section 1238.1 of this section; or
  2. The new leave ceiling shall be two hundred forty (240) hours if the balance carried forward is equal to or less than two hundred forty (240) hours.


1239     Annual Leave - Restoration


1239.1    As provided in section 1203 (h) (2) of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.03 (h) (2) (2006 Repl.)), annual leave may be restored when:

  1. An administrative error causes a loss of annual leave otherwise accruable after June 30, 1960;
  2. Exigencies of the public business, deemed by the agency head to be of major importance, causes denial and forfeiture of annual leave previously scheduled at least three (3) biweekly pay periods prior to the end of the leave year; or
  3. An employee becomes sick while on scheduled annual leave and receives approval to substitute sick leave for the scheduled annual leave. The employee must have had sick leave available at the time of the request for scheduled annual leave.

1239.2    If the annual leave restored under subsection 1239.1 of this section causes the employee’s accumulated annual leave balance to exceed the maximum allowable accumulation under subsection 1238.1 of this chapter such restored leave shall be credited to a separate leave account. Such restored leave that exceeds the maximum allowable accumulation shall be forfeited unless scheduled and used not later than two (2) years after one (1) of the following dates:

  1. The date of restoration of the annual leave forfeited because of administrative error;
  2. The date fixed by the agency head as the termination date of the exigency of the public business that resulted in forfeiture of the annual leave; or
  3. The date the employee is determined to be recovered and able to return to duty if the leave was forfeited because of sickness.

1239.3    Restored leave for separated employees:

  1. Restored leave for separated employees shall be included in a lump-sum payment if unused and still available upon the date of separation; and
  2. Pursuant to section 1203(h) (2) (B) of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.03 (h) (2) (B)), in the event of an administrative error, a separated employee entitled to restored annual leave, otherwise accruable after June 30, 1960, shall be entitled to credit and liquidation by lump-sum payment only if the employee files a claim for restored leave within three (3) years of the date the error was discovered.

1239.4    The agency head shall provide notification to the appropriate authority to effect the restoration of annual leave under this section.


1240     Payment for Annual Leave


1240.1    An employee who accepts a position within the District government under a different leave system without a break in service, may elect either a lump-sum payment for any unused annual leave or have such leave retained for re-crediting purposes if he or she returns to a position covered by the provisions of these regulations.

1240.2    An employee who uses annual leave credited because of administrative error may elect to repay the amount received for such leave by lump-sum or installment payments, or to have such leave carried forward as a charge against later accruing annual leave, or to apply for a waiver of the overpayment under Chapter 29 of these regulations.

1240.3    An employee who is separated from District government service or who enters into military service shall be entitled to receive a lump-sum payment for annual leave to which entitled.

1240.4    The lump-sum payment pursuant to subsection 1240.3 of this section shall equal the pay that the person would have received had he or she remained in the employ of the District government.

1240.5    The period of leave used for calculating the amount of the lump-sum payment shall not be extended due to any holiday occurring after the separation.


1241     Accrual of Sick Leave


1241.1    A full-time employee to whom this chapter applies shall accrue sick leave on the basis of four (4) hours for each full biweekly pay period.

1241.2    Sick leave shall be credited at the beginning of each full or partial (one-half (½)) pay period for use during or after that pay period.

1241.3    Except as provided in section 1241.5 of this section, a part-time employee shall earn one (1) hour of sick leave for each twenty (20) hours in a pay status.

1241.4    Sick leave provided for in this section that is not used by an employee during the year in which it accrues shall accumulate and be available for use in succeeding years. There shall be no limitation on the amount of sick leave an employee may accumulate.

1241.5    A part-time employee entitled to earn sick leave as provided in section 1241.3 of this section shall not earn sick leave for any hours worked for which he or she is entitled to overtime compensation under Chapter 11 of these regulations.


1242     Sick Leave - Granting


1242.1    An agency head shall grant sick leave to an employee under any of the following circumstances:

  1. When the employee requires personal medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment;
  2. When the employee is incapacitated for the performance of his or her duties by physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy, or childbirth;
  3. When the employee would jeopardize the health of others by his or her presence on the job because of exposure to a communicable disease (as determined by appropriate health authorities or by a health care provider);
  4. When the employee’s absence is required to provide care for a family member who is incapacitated by a medical or mental condition or to attend to a family member receiving medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment;
  5. When the employee’s absence is required to provide care for a family member with a serious health condition;
  6. Because of the birth, or the placement for adoption, of a son or daughter of the employee, and in order to care for such son or daughter; or
  7. When the employee is absent because of the death of a family member, provided that such absence shall not exceed three (3) workdays (twenty-four (24) hours), and that the employee provides evidence that is acceptable to the agency.

1242.2    When any of the circumstances set forth in section 1242.1 of this section occurs within a period of annual leave, an agency head may, at the employee’s request, convert annual leave to sick leave.

1242.3    Annual leave may not be substituted for sick leave that has been applied for and granted.

1242.4    An employee shall file a written application for sick leave within such time limits as the agency head may prescribe.

1242.5    An employee shall request sick leave in advance for a pre-scheduled appointment for medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment.

1242.6    An agency head may grant sick leave only when supported by a medical certificate or appropriate document signed by the employee.

1242.7    For an absence in excess of three (3) workdays, or for a lesser period when determined necessary by an agency, the agency may require a medical certificate, or other administratively acceptable evidence as to the reason for the absence.


1243     Sick Leave - Advancing


1243.1    Agency heads or their subordinate supervisor designees are authorized to advance to an employee a maximum of two hundred forty (240) hours of sick leave in cases of serious disability or ailments, except:

  1. When the agency head (or designee) has reason to believe that the employee may not be able to repay the advanced leave; or
  2. When an employee is serving a term or temporary appointment with a not-to-exceed date), an agency head may advance sick leave only up to the total sick leave the employee would earn during the remainder of the time-limited appointment.

1243.2    If the reason for an employee’s request for advanced sick leave would qualify for leave under D.C. FMLA or federal FMLA, any advanced sick leave used by the employee shall count towards his or her entitlement.

1243.3    All of the employee’s accrued and accumulated sick leave must be exhausted before an agency head or his or her designee may advance leave to the employee.


1244     Unscheduled Leave and Leave Restriction


1244.1    The process for requesting leave is to submit a request at least one business day prior to when the leave is scheduled to begin (agencies may establish policies requiring that a leave request be submitted more than one day in advance); however, from time to time, employees may need to be absent from work unexpectedly for reasons such as a personal emergency or illness. Any leave not requested at least one business day prior to when the leave is scheduled to begin and approved shall be considered unscheduled leave.

1244.2    Employees are entitled to unscheduled leave when circumstances beyond their control prevent them from reporting to work. An employee may also use unscheduled leave when authorized by the Mayor during a declared emergency as outlined in Subsection 1273.4. Except when an employee is placed on leave restriction, or when there is a uniform agency policy to the contrary, the use of unscheduled sick leave does not require supervisory approval. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a supervisor may deny the use of unscheduled leave if the supervisor has sound reason to believe that a legitimate personal emergency does not exist or the employee's presence on duty is essential to maintain minimum public services in the support or maintenance of public health, life, or property and the employee has been so notified.

1244.3    An employee shall inform his or her immediate supervisor or, if not available, another supervisor within the employee’s chain of command, of his or her need to take unscheduled leave. Except in exceptional circumstances, an employee shall notify his or her supervisor of the need to take unscheduled leave no later than two (2) hours prior to the beginning of the employee’s scheduled tour of duty or as soon as the employee becomes aware of the need to take unscheduled leave, whichever is earlier. A request for unscheduled leave received after the start of the employee’s tour of duty may be denied. Agencies may establish a written policy with a different notification period based on operational requirements.

1244.4    Agency heads shall determine, and inform their subordinate employees in writing, whether notifying a co-worker, leaving a message on the supervisor’s or an approved agency voicemail, sending an electronic mail, or submitting a leave request for unscheduled leave in the time reporting system shall be deemed as an adequate contact for employees notifying their supervisor of their need to take unscheduled leave. If no administrative order or agency policy is developed in this regard, then employees shall submit a leave request for unscheduled leave in the time reporting system.

1244.5    The use of unscheduled leave shall be reported as “unscheduled annual leave,” “unscheduled sick leave,” “unscheduled leave without pay,” “unscheduled compensatory time,” or “unscheduled exempt time off” in the applicable time reporting system based upon the reason for the absence. When appropriate, employees on an approved telework agreement should consider requesting situational telework, as outlined in Subsection 1211.8, in lieu of using unscheduled leave.

1244.6    As required by Subsection 1242.5, sick leave for pre-scheduled medical, dental, or optical examinations or treatments shall be requested in advance. In all other situations, the employee shall make requests for unscheduled sick leave pursuant to Subsection 1244.3.

1244.7    An employee’s immediate supervisor may restrict an employee’s use of unscheduled leave whenever there is substantial evidence that the employee has engaged in a pattern or practice of leave abuse, such as:

  1. Requesting unscheduled leave in order to avoid certain work shifts or work assignments;
  2. Requesting unscheduled leave when a personal emergency does not exist;
  3. Requesting unscheduled leave with such frequency that it results in the employee being unavailable immediately preceding or following the employee’s consecutive two (2) days outside of the basic workweek; or
  4. Requesting unscheduled leave with such frequency that it results in the employee being absent part of the workday or an entire workday on a consistent and regular basis.

1244.8    Whenever a supervisor determines that an employee has engaged in an activity set forth in Subsection 1244.7, the employee may be placed on leave restriction. The period of leave restriction shall be outlined in writing and may not exceed ninety (90) days.

1244.9    An employee who has been placed on leave restriction must receive permission directly from his or her supervisor or, if not available, directly from another supervisor in the chain of command, before taking unscheduled leave.

1244.10  An employee under leave restriction who takes unscheduled leave without receiving prior supervisory approval, as specified in Subsection 1244.9, shall be placed in an Absence Without Official Leave status in accordance with section 1268; may be ordered to provide proof that he or she was seen by a health care provider; and shall be subject to administrative action as indicated in Chapter 16 (Corrective and Adverse Actions; Enforced Leave; and Grievances).

1244.11  Upon completion of a prescribed period of leave restriction without incident, the employee shall be removed from leave restriction and may return to requesting unscheduled leave as indicated in Subsection 1244.4.


1245     FLSA Compensatory Time - Accruing


1245.1    Compensatory time is an authorized absence from official duty in lieu of payment of authorized overtime as provided in Chapter 11 of these regulations.

1245.2    Compensatory time shall be accrued in fifteen-minute (15-minute) increments. An FLSA non exempt employee shall be limited to the following amounts of compensatory time:

  1. A maximum of four hundred eighty (480) hours for employees occupying public safety, emergency response, and seasonal-work positions; and
  2. A maximum of two hundred forty (240) hours for all other employees.


1246     FLSA Compensatory Time - Granting


1246.1    An employee may be authorized to use, at the employee’s request, compensatory time in lieu of using annual leave, sick leave, leave without pay, or unscheduled leave.

1246.2    To the maximum extent practicable, compensatory time should be taken within three (3) months after it is earned.

1246.3    Compensatory time shall be granted only in one-hour (1-hour) increments, except that a fractional part of an hour may be granted when it is used in conjunction with the last remaining full hour accrued.


1247     Payment for FLSA Compensation Time


1247.1    An employee shall be given a lump-sum payment for any FLSA compensatory time in his or her account at the time of separation from District government service, regardless of the nature of the separation.


1248     Exempt Time Off


1248.1    Exempt time off may be authorized as provided in section 1139 of Chapter 11 of these regulations.

1248.2    An employee may be authorized to use, at the employee’s request, exempt time off in lieu of using annual leave, sick leave, leave without pay, or unscheduled leave.


1250     Annual Leave Bank - General


1250.1    Sections 1250 through 1258 of this chapter are promulgated to implement annual leave bank provisions in sections 1205 through 1211 of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code §§ 1-612.05 through 1-612.11 (2006 Repl.)).

1250.2    The Annual Leave Bank Program is applicable to all District government employees who are entitled to accrue annual leave pursuant to section 1203 of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-612.03 (2006 Repl.)).


1251     Establishing and Operating Annual Leave Banks


1251.1    Each personnel authority shall:

  1. Develop written policies and procedures in accordance with these regulations to establish and administer an annual leave bank for employees under its jurisdiction for the purpose of accumulating annual leave donated by employees of that personnel authority for the use of leave bank members of that personnel authority who need such leave because of a medical emergency;
  2. Establish and begin operating an annual leave bank for employees under its jurisdiction;
  3. Review and approve or disapprove each employee application to become a leave donor under § 1252 and a leave recipient under § 1253; and inform the employee and the employee's agency of the approval or disapproval of the application;
  4. Monitor the status of each leave recipient's medical emergency;
  5. Maintain, on a leave year basis, the records required by § 1258 of these rules.

1251.2    Each agency of the personnel authority shall insure that the automated annual leave account balance of each employee who donates annual leave under the provisions of § 1252 of these rules is reduced by the number of annual leave hours donated to the annual leave bank and that the leave donor's time and attendance report also reflects the reduction.

1251.3    Each agency of the personnel authority shall insure that the automated annual leave account balance of each employee who is a leave recipient under the provisions of § 1253 of these rules is increased by the number of annual leave hours received from the annual leave bank and that the leave recipient's time and attendance report also reflects the receipt of annual leave bank hours.


1252     Application to Become a Leave Donor and Leave Bank Member


1252.1    An employee may make voluntary written application to the annual leave bank established by his or her personnel authority to become a leave donor at any time during the leave year subject to the limitations provided in § 1252.3. The application shall specify the number of hours of annual leave to be donated and any other information the personnel authority may deem necessary.

1252.2    The value of the leave donated by a leave donor shall be an amount equal to the donor's hourly rate of basic pay multiplied by the number of hours of annual leave donated.

1252.3    A leave donor may not donate more than a total of one-half (½) of the amount of annual leave that the leave donor would be entitled to accrue during the leave year in which the donation is made, except that a leave donor may donate restored annual leave without limitation.

1252.4    The total amount of annual leave to be donated by a leave donor must be available in the leave account of the leave donor at the time he or she makes application to donate such annual leave; and shall be deducted from the leave donor's leave account effective on the first full pay period following approval of the application by the personnel authority.

1252.5    Once donated, annual leave shall not be recredited to the leave donor.

1252.6    A leave donor shall become a leave bank member of the leave bank established by his or her personnel authority for any leave year in which he or she donates at least four (4) hours of annual leave to that leave bank.


1253     Application to Become a Leave Recipient


1253.1    A leave bank member may make written application to his or her personnel authority to become a leave recipient.

1253.2    If a leave bank member is not capable of making application on his or her own behalf, another employee of the personnel authority may make written application on the employee's behalf.

1253.3    An application to become a leave recipient shall be notarized.

1253.4    An application to become a leave recipient shall be accompanied by the following information concerning the potential leave recipient:

  1. The leave bank member's name, position title, grade and step;
  2. The reason(s) the leave is needed, including a brief description of the nature, severity, anticipated duration, and if it is a recurring medical emergency, the approximate frequency of the medical emergency;
  3. Certification from one or more physicians, or other appropriate experts, with respect to the medical emergency; and
  4. Any additional information that may be required by the personnel authority.

1253.5    Any expense incurred in obtaining the medical certification required by § 1253.4(c) shall be the responsibility of the potential leave recipient.


1254     Approval of Application to Become a Leave Recipient


1254.1    Each personnel authority shall review the applications to become a leave recipient under procedures developed by that personnel authority for the purpose of determining whether the employee is a leave bank member who is or has been affected by a medical emergency as defined in § 1299.

1254.2    Before approving an application to become a leave recipient, the personnel authority shall determine that:

  1. The request to become a leave recipient has been necessitated by a medical emergency;
  2. The absence from duty because of the medical emergency is, or is expected to be, at least ten (10) workdays;
  3. The potential leave recipient has previously donated a minimum of four (4) hours of annual leave to the annual leave bank in the leave year in which the employee submits the application to become a leave recipient;
  4. The potential leave recipient has made, and final agency action has been taken on, application(s) for the maximum amount of advanced leave, either sick leave or annual leave as appropriate, available to him or her; and
  5. The potential leave recipient does not possess paid leave, including compensatory time and personal leave, to cover the expected period of absence from work.

1254.3    In making a determination as to whether a medical emergency is likely to result in a substantial loss of income, the personnel authority shall not consider factors other than whether the absence from duty because of the medical emergency will be at least ten (10) workdays and, as a result of such absence the employee's pay on a biweekly basis will be reduced by more than fifty percent (50%) of his or her biweekly rate of basic pay.

1254.4    The fact that a potential leave recipient's application for advanced leave may have been denied shall not be the sole basis for denying an application to become a leave recipient.

1254.5    The personnel authority shall act upon applications to become a leave recipient in the order in which they are received.

1254.6    The personnel authority shall notify an applicant in writing within fifteen (15) workdays of receipt of the application of the action taken on his or her application. If the application is not approved, the notification shall include the reason(s) for the disapproval.

 


1255     Crediting Annual Leave Bank Hours


1255.1    Upon approval of an application to become a leave recipient, annual leave bank hours shall be credited to the leave recipient effective the first pay period during which the employee suffered a substantial loss of income.

1255.2    Annual leave bank hours shall not be used to liquidate any indebtedness for any period of advanced leave.

1255.3    Annual leave bank hours shall not be credited to a leave recipient in amounts greater than necessary to provide the employee, when combined with any accrued leave, his or her biweekly basic pay.

1255.4    The value of the annual leave received by a leave recipient from the annual leave bank shall be in an amount equal to the recipient's hourly rate of basic pay multiplied by the number of hours of annual leave received.

1255.5    When a withdrawal is approved, the personnel authority shall reduce its annual leave bank by the dollar value corresponding to the annual leave credited to the leave recipient.

1255.6    When there are insufficient funds in the annual leave bank to fulfill an applicant's request, the personnel authority may only approve an amount that does not cause the annual leave bank to exceed its available balance.

1255.7    When leave recipients cannot be granted the full amount of annual leave requested because of insufficient leave bank balances, and additional hours are donated at a later date, the personnel authority shall first reevaluate the request(s) of the leave recipient(s) who did not receive the full amount of annual leave requested prior to acting on subsequently received applications.

1255.8    Annual leave shall not be borrowed, contributed or otherwise transferred between the annual leave banks of the various District government personnel authorities nor between District government, Federal Government or any other leave banks.


1256     Use of Leave Withdrawn from a Leave Bank


1256.1    A leave recipient may use leave withdrawn from a leave bank only for the specific medical emergency for which the application to become a leave recipient was approved.

1256.2    A leave recipient shall continue to accrue annual leave and sick leave while using leave withdrawn from a leave bank.

1256.3    During each biweekly pay period a leave recipient is affected by a medical emergency, he or she shall use any accrued annual leave (and sick leave, if applicable) before using annual leave withdrawn from a leave bank.


1257     Termination of Medical Emergencies


1257.1    The medical emergency affecting a leave recipient shall terminate when:

  1. The leave recipient's employment is terminated; or
  2. The leave recipient is no longer affected by the medical emergency

1257.2    Each personnel authority shall ensure that any annual leave withdrawn from the leave bank and not used before the termination of the leave recipient's medical emergency is returned to the leave bank.

1257.3    Annual leave that is returned to a leave bank shall be credited in an amount equal to the leave recipient's hourly rate of basic pay multiplied by the number of hours of annual leave not used.


1258     Records and Reports


1258.1    Each personnel authority shall maintain the following records on a leave year basis:

  1. The name, grade, step and scheduled rate of basic pay of each leave donor, the total number of hours of annual leave he or she donated to the leave bank and the corresponding dollar value of the leave donated;
  2. The number of applications approved and disapproved for medical emergencies affecting employees;
  3. The number of applications approved and disapproved for medical emergencies affecting an employee's family members; and
  4. The name, grade, step and scheduled rate of basic pay of each leave recipient, the total number of hours of annual leave he or she received from the leave bank and the corresponding dollar value of the leave received;

1258.2    Each personnel authority shall maintain for each leave year quarter, an accounting of the total hours and corresponding dollar value of employee annual leave donations to and withdrawals from its Annual Leave Bank, and shall report such accounting to the Director of the D.C. Department of Human Resources (DCHR) within thirty (30) calendar days following the end of each leave year quarter.

1258.3    The DCHR shall maintain for each leave year quarter, an accounting of the total hours and corresponding dollar value of employee annual leave donations to and withdrawals from the Annual Leave Bank for employees in subordinate agencies.

1258.4    The Director of the DCHR shall review and compile the accounting reports required by subsection 1258.2 of this section and provide a written report to the Mayor within sixty (60) calendar days following the end of each leave year quarter.


1259     Excused Absence in Connection with Serving as a Bone Marrow or Organ Donor


1259.1    An employee of the District government is entitled to up to seven (7) workdays of excused absence in a calendar year, without loss or reduction in pay, leave, or credit for time of service, to serve as a bone marrow donor.

1259.2    An employee of the District government is entitled to up to thirty (30) workdays of excused absence in a calendar year, without loss or reduction in pay, leave, or credit for time of service, to serve as an organ donor.

1259.3    The workdays prescribed in §§ 1259.1 and 1259.2 shall be converted to hours.

1259.4    The provisions in §§ 1259.1 and 1259.2 shall only apply if the employee is a volunteer donor.

1259.5    Each personnel authority shall develop written procedures in accordance with this section.


1260     Absence for Maternity Reasons


1260.1    The granting of approved absence for maternity reasons may be by a combination of one (1) or more of the following:

  1. Sick leave;
  2. Annual leave;
  3. Compensatory time;
  4. Exempt time off; or
  5. Leave without pay.

1260.2    Except as provided by the D.C. FMLA, authorizing leave without pay for maternity reasons shall be a matter of administrative discretion on the part of each agency head.

1260.3    Leave without pay normally shall be granted only at the request of the employee.

1260.4    The agency head shall ensure continued employment in the employee’s position or a position of like seniority, status, and pay, to an employee who wishes to return to work following delivery and confinement, unless termination is otherwise required by expiration of appointment, by reduction in force, for cause, or for similar reasons unrelated to the maternity absence.

1260.5    Agencies shall apply the same leave policies, regulations, and procedures as are applicable to requests for leave generally.

1260.6    Childbirth or complications of pregnancy shall be deemed to be temporary disabilities and shall be treated for leave purposes in the same manner as any other physical condition that incapacitates the employee for the performance of duty.

1260.7    Periods of absence related to pregnancy and confinement that are not medically certified as due to incapacitation for the performance of duty shall not be charged to sick leave; they shall be charged to annual leave, compensatory time, or to leave without pay if requested by the employee and approved by the leave approving official.


1261     Funeral and Family Bereavement Leave


1261.1   

  1. In accordance with the Funeral and Memorial Service Leave Amendment Act of 2013, effective February 22, 2014 (D.C. Law 20-83; D.C. Official Code § 1-612.03(n) (2016 Repl.)), an employee shall be entitled to not more than three (3) days of authorized absence without loss of or reduction in pay, leave to which otherwise entitled, or credit for time or service, to make arrangements for or attend the funeral or memorial service of an immediate relative, as defined in Section 1299 of this chapter.
  2. In addition to the three (3) days of authorized absence, unless the mission of the agency would be seriously impaired, an agency shall grant an employee’s request for annual leave, sick leave, exempt time off, or compensatory time for an additional two (2) days upon the death of an immediate relative.
  3. The days requested for funeral leave need not be consecutive, but if they are not consecutive, the employee shall furnish to the approving authority satisfactory reasons justifying the granting of funeral leave for nonconsecutive days.
  4. When approved, an employee shall receive funeral leave for all previously scheduled hours during the leave period, including previously scheduled overtime hours. However, an employee shall not be eligible for overtime premiums for the same hours he or she receives funeral leave.

1261.2   

  1. In addition to the leave authorized by § 1261.1, an employee shall be entitled to ten (10) days of bereavement leave without loss of pay, leave, or service credit when the employee suffers a stillbirth, or the employee suffers the death of the employee’s child under the age of twenty-one (21) years.
  2. Bereavement leave under this subsection must be exercised within sixty (60) days after the death of the employee’s child or stillbirth.
  3. For the purposes of this subsection:
    1. “Child” means the biological, adopted, or stepchild of the employee or the employee’s spouse, or of a person for whom the employee stands in loco parentis.
    2. “Stillbirth” means the loss of a pregnancy at twenty (20) weeks gestation or later.

1261.3    The days requested for funeral leave need not be consecutive, but if they are not consecutive, the employee shall furnish to the approving authority satisfactory reasons justifying the granting of funeral leave for nonconsecutive days.

1261.4    When approved, an employee shall receive funeral leave for all previously scheduled hours during the leave period, including previously scheduled overtime hours. However, an employee shall not be eligible for overtime premiums for the same hours he or she receives funeral leave.


1262     Military Leave


1262.1    For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the meaning ascribed:

Reserve component of the Armed Forces – the Army National Guard of the United States; the Army Reserve; the Naval Reserve; the Marine Corps Reserve; the Air National Guard of the United States; the Air Force Reserve; or the Coast Guard Reserve.

Military leave – authorized absence without loss of or reduction in pay, leave, or credit for time or service, for the performance of military service as provided in this section. Military leave shall be distinguished from military furlough, which is a period of extended absence without pay while on extended active duty for general military service.

1262.2   

  1. An employee serving in a full-time permanent appointment, term appointment, or indefinite appointment, who is a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces, shall be credited with one-hundred twenty (120) hours of military leave at the beginning of each fiscal year.
  2. Employees may use military leave for active duty or for inactive-duty training under 37 U.S.C. § 101, funeral honors duty under 10 U.S.C. § 12503 and 32 U.S.C. § 115, or to engage in field or coast defense training under 32 U.S.C. §§ 502 through 505.
  3. Military leave that is not used by an employee shall accumulate for use in succeeding fiscal years, except that military leave in excess of one-hundred twenty (120) hours at the beginning of the first full biweekly pay period of the fiscal year shall be forfeited.
  4. An employee serving in a part-time permanent appointment, term appointment, or indefinite appointment shall be credited with a prorated number of hours of military leave. The prorated hours shall be the number of hours scheduled per week divided by forty (40) hours multiplied by one-hundred twenty (120) hours.
  5. Military leave under this subsection shall be limited to a total of two-hundred forty (240) hours per fiscal year.
  6. Scheduled non-workdays falling within a period of military leave under this subsection shall not be charged against an employee’s military leave allotment.

1262.3    An employee serving in a permanent appointment, term appointment, or indefinite appointment, who is a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces, who performs full-time service for the purpose of providing military aid to enforce the law or in support of a contingency operation as defined in 10 U.S.C. § 101 (a)(13), shall be entitled to military leave, for not to exceed twenty-two (22) workdays in a fiscal year, for either of the following:

  1. Federal service under 10 U.S.C. §§ 331 – 333 and 12406, or other provision of law, as applicable; or
  2. Full-time military service for their state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States.

1262.4    The pay due an employee who is granted military leave under section 1262.3 of this section shall be subject to the following:

  1. The pay due the employee shall be reduced by any amount (other than travel, transportation, or per diem allowance) received by the employee for such military service as a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces;
  2. The receipt of military pay shall not only reduce the employee’s entitlement to civilian pay as provided in section 1262.4 (a) of this section, but shall also reduce his or her required contribution to the Civil Service Retirement Fund, if applicable, in the same manner as nonpay status reduces such contribution; and
  3. Civilian pay shall be reduced only by the amount that the employee receives for military service performed on a workday, and not by any amount that the employee might receive for military service performed on a nonworkday.

1262.5    When the D.C. National Guard is ordered to duty to perform the kind of services for which military leave is provided under section 1262.3 of this section, the military leave must be charged to the leave specified therein and an appropriate adjustment made in civilian pay as provided in section 1262.4 of this section.

1262.6    An employee serving in a permanent appointment, term appointment, or indefinite appointment, who is a member of the D.C. National Guard, shall be entitled to military leave without loss in pay or time for participation in parades or encampments that the D.C. National Guard, or any portion thereof, is ordered to perform by the Commanding General under Title 49 of the D.C. Official Code. However, leave will not be provided for time spent at weekly drills or meetings and does not extend to voluntary participation in such operations. When leave is taken pursuant to this subsection, the employee shall be entitled to pay differential between their regular rate of pay and that received from the National Guard.

1262.7    An employee with a scheduled tour of duty shall be entitled to military leave as provided in this section.

1262.8    Military leave shall be granted only when competent orders are presented to the appropriate agency official(s).

1262.9    Military leave may be taken intermittently, a day at a time, or as otherwise directed under orders issued by competent military authority; provided, however, that the maximum amounts authorized are not exceeded.

1262.10  It shall be a prerequisite to entitlement to military leave that the employee was in a pay status either immediately prior to the beginning of the period of military service, or returned to a pay status immediately afterwards.

1262.11  An employee shall not be eligible for military leave for the following types of service:

  1. Summer training as members of Reserve Officers Training Corps, when employees shall be carried in leave-without-pay status;
  2. Temporary Coast Guard Reserve;
  3. Participation in parades by members of the National Guard of any jurisdiction except the D.C. National Guard as provided in section 1262.6 of this section;
  4. Training with a state defense organization or a state military organization that is not a part of the National Guard, or any other organization created by the state in the absence of the state National Guard during an emergency;
  5. Weekly drills and meetings as a member of any reserve component of the Armed Forces, including the D.C. National Guard;
  6. Civil Air Patrol (established as a civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force pursuant to An Act To establish Civil Air Patrol as a civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force and to authorize the Secretary of the Air Force to extend aid to Civil Air Patrol in the fulfillment of its objectives, and for other purposes, approved May 26, 1948, Pub. L. 557, 62 Stat. 274);
  7. Time taken on a workday to travel to the place where the training is to begin unless military training orders encompass the period of travel time required;
  8. Active duty as a commissioned officer in the Reserve Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service; or
  9. Active duty with a state National Guard unit when ordered to duty by state authority, except when called for duty as specified in section 1262.3 (b) of this section.

1262.12  An employee who is a member of one of the reserve components of the Armed Forces and who is ordered into the active military service of the United States with the pay and allowances of his or her grade, may not, during the periods of such service, be employed in an active civilian capacity under the District government and receive pay therefore in the absence of specific statutory authority.

1262.13  [Repealed]

1262.14  If a physical examination is required in connection with military leave:

  1. The time required for such examination shall be counted as part of the military leave, if it does not cause the total period of absence to exceed the maximum number of days allowed and
  2. If the physical examination cannot be taken within the maximum period of time allowed, the required additional absence shall be charged to sick leave, annual leave, compensatory time, or leave without pay, as appropriate.

1262.15  An employee who is a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces who is called for a period of military service in excess of the maximum number of days allowed for military leave may use annual leave, compensatory time, or leave without pay for the period of absence from duty.

1262.16  A member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces may also be carried in an annual leave status to the extent of annual leave accrued during the period of active military service.

1262.17  When an employee, while on annual leave before a furlough-without-pay occurring prior to separation by reduction in force, is called to military training duty, military leave shall be regarded as interrupting his or her annual leave status so as to permit him or her to revert to an annual leave status at the termination of the military leave before the previously fixed reduction-in-force termination date.

1262.18  An employee who is scheduled to work on an evening or weekend, and who is simultaneously required to be absent from duty to participate in evening or weekend drills or meetings with his or her reserve component unit, and for whom a schedule adjustment, as provided in section 1204.2 (h) of this chapter, cannot reasonably be made, shall be excused from duty, but the absence shall be charged to annual leave, compensatory time, or leave without pay, as appropriate.


1263     Court Leave


1263.1    Court leave shall be the authorized absence from work status without loss of or reduction in pay, leave to which otherwise entitled, or credit for time or service, of an employee other than an employee on a when-actually-employed (WAE) or intermittent basis, whenever the employee is performing jury service as set forth in section 1264 of this chapter, witness service, as provided in section 1265 of this chapter, or on a substituted basis, as specified in sections 1263.5, 1263.6, or 1263.15 of this section.

1263.2    Court leave shall only be granted to an employee who, except for the performance of jury or witness service, would have been on duty, or on leave with pay or compensatory time, and shall not be granted to an employee in a nonpay status when summoned to perform such service.

1263.3    A night-shift employee who performs jury or witness service during the day shall be granted court leave for his or her regularly scheduled night tour of duty.

1263.4    While the word “summoned” as used in this section and in sections 1264 and 1265 of this chapter includes a subpoena, the word does not connote any necessity for a subpoena, but does intend that the summons be an official request, invitation, or call, evidenced by an official writing from the court or authority responsible for the conduct of the proceeding, thus ruling out strictly voluntary appearances from court leave coverage, as well as a “summons” for any purpose other than those set forth in sections 1264 and 1265 of this chapter.

1263.5    If an employee is on annual leave when summoned to perform jury or witness service, court leave shall be substituted, and any annual leave forfeited as a result of the substitution shall be restored as provided in section 1241 of this chapter.

1263.6    An employee on annual leave under advance notice of separation due to reduction in force pursuant to Chapter 24 of these regulations, and who is summoned to perform jury or witness service, shall be entitled to have court leave substituted for annual leave, but not to extend beyond the date administratively fixed for his or her separation.

1263.7    Court leave shall only be granted for the period actually spent in jury or witness service, plus reasonable travel time.

1263.8    When no hardship would result, it shall be within the administrative discretion of the agency head to require an employee on court leave to return to duty or suffer a charge against his or her annual leave or compensatory time, or to be placed on leave without pay if the employee does not elect to use annual leave or compensatory time (or if there is no available annual leave or compensatory time), if the employee is excused from jury or witness service for half or more of a workday. A hardship would be deemed to occur if the employee was unable to perform a substantial part of a day's duty, or if the employee was assigned to a night shift.

1263.9   Upon return to duty, the agency head may require the employee to certify to, or submit written evidence of, the dates and, if possible, the hours of the jury or witness service performed.

1263.10  An employee who performed jury or witness service while on court leave shall not be entitled to also retain jury or witness fees paid by the court, a party, or other body for the same period of service, except as follows:

  1. If a court’s rules define its fees as payment for travel and meals, or otherwise as reimbursement for expenses, then these fees may be retained by an employee; and
  2. An employee shall be permitted to retain fees received for jury or witness service performed on a holiday falling within the employee’s basic tour of duty if, had the employee not been performing such service, he or she would have been excused from regular duties on that holiday.

1263.11  The employee shall turn over to his or her agency any fees for jury or witness service that are not authorized to be retained.

1263.12  The employee shall be permitted to keep any excess of the jury or witness fees over the amount of compensation due him or her for the same period.

1263.13  An employee who is in a leave-without-pay status as specified in section 1267 of this chapter when summoned for jury or witness service, and consequently not entitled to court leave, shall be entitled to retain all fees for services while in a leave-without-pay status.

1263.14  An employee who is a party in any civil action, or a defendant in a criminal action, shall not be entitled to court leave, but shall be required to take annual leave, compensatory time, or leave without pay, as appropriate.

1263.15  An employee who is a successful plaintiff in an action against the District government brought under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and who used annual leave, compensatory time, or leave without pay, shall be made whole as follows:

  1. Any annual leave used by the employee for that period shall have court leave substituted therefore, and any annual leave forfeited as a result of the substitution shall be restored as provided in section 1241 of this chapter;
  2. Any compensatory time used by the employee for that period shall have court leave substituted therefore; and
  3. Any leave without pay used by the employee for that period shall have court leave substituted therefore, and the employee given back pay.


1264     Jury Service


1264.1     Jury service for which court leave is authorized shall include any service as either a grand juror or petit juror in any jurisdiction, including time spent pursuant to a summons to appear for such service, whether or not actually selected to serve on such jury or juries.


1265     Witness Service


1265.1    An employee shall receive paid court leave pursuant to § 1263 for the time the employee spends providing testimony or to producing evidence when a court or administrative tribunal summons the employee to appear and provide testimony or to produce evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding in which the District of Columbia, the United States, or another state or local government is a party.

1265.2    Notwithstanding § 1265.1, an employee providing testimony or producing evidence in his or her official capacity as a District government employee, rather than in his or her personal capacity, in a judicial or administrative proceeding shall be deemed to be on District government duty and shall receive regular pay rather than paid court leave.

1265.3    An employee shall be eligible for reimbursement for travel expenses incurred to provide testimony or to produce evidence in his or her official capacity as a District government employee in accordance with Chapter 40 of this subtitle.

1265.4    An employee may be granted leave without pay, annual leave, or compensatory leave, as appropriate, whenever a judicial or administrative body summons the employee to provide testimony or produce evidence in a proceeding in which neither the District of Columbia, the United States, nor another state or local government is a party. The employee shall not be eligible to receive paid court leave for providing testimony or producing evidence in such a proceeding.

1265.5    The agency head shall contact the judicial or administrative body issuing the summons for clarification when it is unclear whether the employee will be providing testimony or producing evidence in his or her personal or official capacity.

1265.6    Notwithstanding § 1265.1, an employee is not eligible for paid court leave:

  1. While participating in a criminal proceeding where the employee is a named defendant; or
  2. Where the employee, a relative of the employee, or a private entity in which the employee has a financial interest, initiates a judicial proceeding.


1266     Administrative Leave


1266.1    Administrative leave may be granted by an agency head, at his or her discretion, for up to ten (10) consecutive workdays.

1266.2    Administrative leave in excess of ten (10) consecutive workdays may be granted only with the approval of the personnel authority.

1266.3     Administrative leave shall be granted when an employee has been given permission to attend a meeting or conference, or to participate in an approved training program, but not directed to attend or participate.

1266.4     It shall be appropriate for an agency to use administrative leave in any case where time is needed to complete an investigation that could lead to a corrective or adverse action. However, before placing an employee on administrative leave while an investigation is pending, the agency head shall determine whether the employee could be temporarily reassigned to another unit for the duration of the investigation.

1266.5     Temporary reassignment should be chosen over administrative leave in those cases where the employee’s continued presence at the work site does not interfere with government operations, impede the pending investigation, or place other employees at risk.

1266.6     Administrative leave shall normally be authorized on an individual basis, except when a District government facility is closed or a group of employees is excused from work for various purposes.

1266.7     As provided in Chapter 16 of these regulations, an employee shall be given administrative leave for up to ten (10) hours for the purpose of preparing his or her answer to a notice of proposed adverse action initiated under that chapter.

1266.8     An employee shall be given administrative leave at reasonable times for the purpose of consulting with District government personnel officials, an equal employment opportunity officer, or with a supervisory or management official of higher rank than the employee’s immediate supervisor, concerning the employee’s duties, working conditions, employment and retirement status, complaints, grievances, appeals, and like matters; however, the employee shall be required to ask his or her immediate supervisor to indicate a convenient time when he or she can be excused without unduly disruption to the work schedule, and shall be required to inform the supervisor of the name of the official the employee needs to consult with, or office to be visited.

1266.9     An employee shall be given administrative leave for the purpose of taking a medical examination for District government employment, an examination for induction or enlistment in the active—but not the reserve—armed forces, a District government vehicle operator’s examination, or other examination that his or her agency has requested him or her to take in order to qualify for reassignment, promotion, or continuance of his or her present job.

1266.10  Agencies shall grant employees up to two (2) hours of administrative leave to attend an initial appointment for the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in accordance with § 2010. Unless otherwise authorized by the personnel authority, agencies may grant employees up to eight (8) additional administrative leave hours per leave year to take advantage of EAP and wellness offerings as part of their comprehensive wellness programs as described in § 2013.

1266.11  A request by an elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for administrative leave to attend an official Advisory Neighborhood Commission function shall be granted, unless the absence would seriously disrupt the activities of the District government agency in which the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner is employed.

1266.12  Except when a work schedule has been established as provided in section 1204.2(j) of this chapter, an employee who is a member of a board or commission shall be given administrative leave to attend official board or commission meetings as defined in Chapter 11 of these regulations.

1266.13  An employee shall be given administrative leave, usually for a period not to exceed four (4) hours, in order to comply with the registration requirements of section 3 of the Military Selective Service Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. APP. 453), subject to the supervisor’s right to approve the date and times at which such absence shall be granted.

1266.14  An employee shall be granted at least two (2) hours of paid administrative leave to vote in any election run by the jurisdiction in which the employee is eligible to vote, if the employee requests to take the leave before the day of the election. When two (2) hours of administrative leave are insufficient to enable an employee to vote, the agency may authorize up to an additional two (2) hours of paid administrative leave when required based on the specific circumstances. Employees shall request leave for voting following their agency’s leave policies.

1266.15  Notwithstanding subsection 1266.14, an agency may specify the hours during which an employee may take leave to vote, including by:

  1. Requiring that the employee take this leave during a period designated for early voting instead of on the day of the election; or
  2. Requiring that the employee take this leave at the beginning or end of their tour of duty.

1266.16  An employee shall be given administrative leave for initial treatment (including reasonable time spent in travel) of an injury incurred in the line of duty, and for the remainder of the day in which the injury occurred when the injury is sufficiently serious to justify the granting of sick leave had the injury not have been incurred in the line of duty.

1266.17  An employee who has returned to a full tour of duty but who, as a result of an illness or injury incurred in the line of duty, must report periodically for subsequent or follow-up treatment to a facility or physician authorized to treat him or her, shall be given administrative leave for the time necessary to receive such treatment (including travel) when treatment must be scheduled during the employee’s regular tour of duty.

1266.18  An employee who is a disabled veteran, and who must report periodically for subsequent or follow-up medical examination or treatment directly related to his or her disability, may be given administrative leave for the time necessary to receive such treatment (including travel) when treatment must be scheduled during the employee’s regular tour of duty. Requests for such leave shall include documentation and shall be made in advance.

1266.19  An employee who donates blood to the Red Cross or to any similar organization, or who donates blood to any District government employee in need of a blood transfusion, or who makes a donation of blood to replace blood required by any District government employee shall be given administrative leave for a reasonable period of time for this purpose.

1266.20  An employee may be given administrative leave to attend a meeting or conference, if not prohibited by law and if the agency head determines that the employee’s attendance is in the best interest of the District government.

1266.21  An employee may be given administrative leave to attend programs or other meetings or functions that are officially sponsored or conducted by the District government or any of its agencies for the education or other benefit of employees.

1266.22  An employee representative of a recognized labor organization shall be granted administrative leave to attend meetings and conferences with management officials, pursuant to collective bargaining agreements, if prior approval is obtained in accordance with established agency or collective bargaining procedures.

1266.23  The Mayor may authorize the dismissal of employees for special reasons within his or her discretion without first declaring the day or portion of the day a legal public holiday under the provisions of subsection 1220.4 of this chapter. When dismissal is so authorized, affected agencies shall grant administrative leave to employees other than those designated as essential or emergency employees under section 1270 of this chapter.


1267     Leave Without Pay


1267.1    Leave without pay shall be charged only for those hours during which an employee would otherwise work or for which he or she would be paid, but shall not be charged for hours for which an employee would receive overtime pay.

1267.2    The permissive nature of leave without pay distinguishes it from absence without leave, which shall be a nonpay status resulting from an agency determination that it will not grant annual leave, sick leave, compensatory time, or leave without pay, for a period of absence for which the employee did not obtain advance authorization or for which his or her request for leave has been denied.

1267.3    Except as provided by the D.C. FMLA, authorizing leave without pay shall be a matter of administrative discretion.

1267.4    An employee shall not be entitled to be granted leave without pay as a matter of right, except for the following:

  1. A disabled veteran who is entitled to leave without pay, if necessary, for medical treatment; and
  2. A reservist and member of the National Guard who is entitled to leave without pay if necessary to perform military duties.

1267.5    Except in unusual circumstances or in furtherance of a program of interest to the District government when it is known in advance that the period of absence will exceed one (1) year, leave without pay shall not be authorized initially for any period in excess of fifty-two (52) calendar weeks.

1267.6    An agency head may approve leave without pay up to a maximum of fifty-two (52) calendar weeks.

1267.7    A personnel authority may approve leave without pay for any period of time.

1267.8    Section 1267.5 of this section shall not apply to absence for service with the U.S. Armed Forces, or for service with restoration rights under section 827 of Chapter 8 of these regulations.

1267.9    Leave without pay shall not extend beyond the termination of the employee’s appointment. 1267.10 An employee may be involuntarily placed on leave without pay whenever:

  1. The employee is drawing disability compensation under Title XXIII of the CMPA (D.C. Official Code § 1-623.01 et seq.) (2006);
  2. The employee is excused from duty as provided in section 1262.18 of this chapter, and does not elect, or does not have to his or her credit, either annual leave or compensatory time; or
  3. The employee was originally granted court leave, has been excused as provided in section 1263.8 of this chapter, and does not elect, or does not have to his or her credit, either annual leave or compensatory time.


1268     Absence Without Leave


1268.1    An absence from duty that was not authorized or approved, or for which a leave request has been denied, shall be charged on the leave record as “absence without leave (AWOL).” The AWOL action may be taken whether or not the employee has leave to his or her credit.

1268.2    An agency head is authorized to determine whether an employee should be carried as AWOL.

1268.3    Pay shall be withheld for the entire period of AWOL.

1268.4    If it is later determined that the absence was excusable, or that the employee was ill, the charge to AWOL may be changed to a charge against annual leave, compensatory time, sick leave, or leave without pay, as appropriate.

1268.5    An employee shall not be required to perform duties during the period of the AWOL charge.


1270     Declared Emergencies - In General


1270.1    During a declared emergency, the following situations may occur:

  1. In response to circumstances that develop while employees are at work, employees may be dismissed early as provided in Section 1272 of this chapter;
  2. In response to circumstances that develop prior to normal duty hours, employees may be authorized to take unscheduled leave, unscheduled telework, or arrive late to work, as provided in Section 1273 of this chapter; and
  3. In response to circumstances that arise prior to normal duty hours, there may be a shutdown of District government operations as provided in Section 1274 of this chapter.

1270.2    The Mayor may declare an emergency whenever he or she deems it to be appropriate and in the public interest.


1271     Declared Emergencies - Emergency and Essential Employees


1271.1    For the purposes of this section as well as Sections 1272 through 1274 of this chapter, certain District government employees shall be designated as “essential” or “emergency” employees.

1271.2   Critical District government operations cannot be suspended or interrupted during emergency situations such as those described in Subsection 1270.1 of this section. Agencies shall identify each agency position with duties that are vital to the continuity of medical facilities, public safety, emergency services, or other crucial operations, and shall designate employees occupying such positions as “essential employees.” Employees designated as “essential” shall be required to be at work regardless of the emergency situation declared.

1271.3   The position description with duties as described in Subsection 1271.2 of this section shall state that the incumbent of the position shall be considered an essential employee required to be at work when an emergency is declared, regardless of the emergency situation declared.

1271.4   An employee designated as an “essential employee” under the provisions of Subsection 1271.2 of this section shall be identified by position title or other appropriate means, and shall be notified in writing of his or her designation as an essential employee and the specific requirements placed upon the employee in emergency situations. The written notification shall occur within thirty (30) days of the agency determination for current employees, or at the time of hire or appointment to the essential position for new employees, as applicable. The required thirty (30)-day notification period may be suspended during a period of a declared emergency.

1271.5   An emergency employee is an employee whose services are necessary for the continuity of operations during a declared emergency. An emergency employee typically provides advice, recommendations, or specific functional support.

1271.6    An emergency employee may be designated from any employment status category (including, but not limited to: Management Supervisory Service, Excepted Service, Legal Service, Career Service, Education Services, etc.).

1271.7    An employee designated as an “emergency employee” under the standards of Subsection 1271.5 of this section shall be informed of the designation in writing within thirty (30) days of such designation. The required thirty (30)-day notification period and the requirement that notification be in writing may be suspended during a period of a declared emergency or during the period of time preceding an expected declaration of an emergency. A written notification shall follow a verbal notification.

1271.8    An agency head may activate an employee designated as an “emergency employee” based on the nature and circumstances of a particular declared emergency. An emergency employee who has been designated and activated will be called in to work, required to stay at work, or required to telework, if approved to do so, during the particular emergency situation.

1271.9    Upon determination by an agency head that an employee’s position designation as an emergency employee is no longer applicable, the agency head shall notify the employee, in writing, within thirty (30) days of such determination.

1271.10  Essential and emergency employees who are required to work during a declared emergency when non-essential and non-emergency employees are on administrative leave shall be entitled to compensation as provided in Section 1135 of Chapter 11 of these regulations.


1272     Declared Emergencies - Early Dismissals


1272.1    The Mayor may, whenever he or she deems it to be appropriate in the public interest, authorize the early dismissal of employees, whereupon he or she shall notify agencies to dismiss, for a specified period of time, and grant administrative leave to, as many employees as the agency head determines to be practicable.

1272.2    Agency heads and other personnel authorities may dismiss, and grant administrative leave to, employees due to the breakdown of heating or air conditioning equipment and other similar situations within one or more of the agency’s or personnel authority’s facilities.

1272.3    Except as provided in Subsection 1272.5 of this section, whenever early dismissal has been authorized, all employees, except essential employees and emergency employees who have been activated subject to the provisions of Section 1271 of this chapter, shall be permitted to leave their assigned duty stations prior to the close of the normal workday, on administrative leave, if the following conditions are met:

  1. They are in a duty status when the notice of early dismissal is received; and
  2. Their regular tour of duty ends after the hour given as the authorized time for early departure.

1272.4    An employee who previously requested and was granted leave for the entire day shall be charged leave for the entire day, regardless of the early dismissal.

1272.5    If, after the notice of early dismissal, an employee requests and is granted leave, the employee shall be charged leave only for that period when leave commences, to the hour that early dismissal is authorized.

1272.6    If, prior to the notice of early dismissal, an employee requests and is granted leave, but otherwise makes known his or her intention of returning to duty status at a time that precedes the end of his or her regular tour of duty, the employee shall be charged leave only for the period of time specified.


1273     Declared Emergencies - Late Arrival, Unscheduled Leave, or Unscheduled Telework Policy


1273.1    The Mayor may, whenever he or she deems it to be appropriate and in the public interest, authorize one or all of the following:

  1. A late arrival policy authorizing a designated number of hours of excused absence;
  2. An unscheduled leave policy; or 
  3. An unscheduled telework policy.

1273.2    Each employee shall be responsible for reporting for duty at the late arrival time, even upon the occurrence of conditions beyond the control of an employee, such as inclement or hazardous weather or a transportation disruption.

1273.3     Whenever the Mayor determines that a late arrival policy is in effect in accordance with Subsection 1273.1(a) of this section, an employee, other than an essential or emergency employee subject to the provisions of Section 1271 of this chapter, shall be authorized to arrive late, up to the number of hours specified by the Mayor, without loss of pay. An employee who utilizes leave for the entire day when a late arrival policy is in effect shall be charged the appropriate leave for the entire day.

1273.4     Whenever the Mayor determines that an unscheduled leave policy is in effect due to a declared emergency in accordance with Subsection 1273.1(b), an employee, other than an essential or emergency employee subject to the provisions of Section 1271, shall be permitted to utilize annual leave, compensatory time, exempt time off, or leave without pay, for all or part of that day, up to a maximum of eight (8) hours or the number of hours worked under an alternative or compressed work schedule, if applicable, without obtaining advance approval or providing detailed justification. The use of unscheduled sick leave must be approved in accordance with Section 1244.

1273.5    Whenever the Mayor determines that an unscheduled telework policy is in effect in accordance with Subsection 1273.1(c) of this section, an employee on a telework agreement may telework. An employee must inform his or her supervisor and timekeeper (or equivalent) of any unscheduled telework day(s) taken pursuant to this section.

1273.6     Whenever the Mayor determines that an unscheduled telework policy is in effect, an employee designated as an emergency employee who is activated is required to report to work unless he or she is directed to telework.

1273.7    An employee who does not report to work (or who does not telework, when authorized to do so) and does not request leave during a period when an unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework policy is in effect, and refuses to consent to any type of leave upon return to duty, shall be charged with absence without official leave.


1274     Declared Emergencies - Shut-Down


1274.1    The Mayor may, whenever he or she deems it to be appropriate and in the public interest, authorize the shut-down of all non-essential District government operations prior to the commencement of normal duty hours.

1274.2    Agency heads and other personnel authorities may authorize the shut-down of one or more of their facilities due to a breakdown of heating or air conditioning equipment or other similar situations, and shall ensure that all affected employees are promptly notified.

1274.3    Except as provided in Subsections 1274.4 and 1274.5 of this section, employees shall be given administrative leave for the entire day of shut-down.

1274.4    Each essential employee subject to the provisions of Section 1271 of this chapter shall still be required to report for duty even upon the occurrence of conditions beyond the control of an employee, such as inclement or hazardous weather or a transportation disruption.

1274.5    Each emergency employee subject to the provisions of Section 1271 of this chapter shall be required to report for duty or telework, if activated, even upon the occurrence of conditions beyond the control of an employee, such as inclement or hazardous weather or transportation disruption.


1279     Accrued Sick and Safe Leave


1279.1    The Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 (“Act”), effective May 13, 2008 (D.C. Law 17- 152; D.C. Official Code §§ 32-131.01, et seq. (2012 Repl. & 2016 Supp.)), provides paid leave to covered employees for illness and for absences associated with domestic violence and sexual abuse.

1279.2    The provisions of this section shall only apply to “covered employees.” For the purposes of this section, a “covered employee” is a temporary employee who has been continuously employed under a “When Actually Employed” (WAE) (also known as intermittent) appointment for at least ninety (90) days. The District government has paid leave policies, as specified in this chapter, which provide leave options at higher accrual rates than those provided in this section. Employees in non-WAE positions are covered by those leave options, rather than by this section.

1279.3    An employee’s paid leave under this section shall accrue in accordance with the District government’s established biweekly pay period, and at the beginning of his or her employment. Covered employees are provided with not less than one (1) hour of paid leave for every thirty seven (37) hours worked, not to exceed seven (7) days a year.

1279.4    Covered employees shall accrue paid leave on a prorated basis at a rate of (1) hour of paid leave per biweekly pay period. An employee may begin to access the accrued paid leave after ninety (90) days of service with the District government.

1279.5    Paid leave accrued under this section may be used by a covered employee for any of the following:

  1. An absence resulting from a physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition of the employee;
  2. An absence resulting from obtaining a professional medical diagnosis or care, or preventive medical care, for the employee;
  3. An absence for the purpose of caring for a family member who has any of the conditions or needs for diagnosis or care described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection; or 
  4. An absence if the employee or the employee’s family member is a victim of stalking, domestic violence, or sexual abuse; provided, the employee seeking leave under paragraph (d) of this subsection, may:
    1. Seek medical attention for the employee or the employee’s family member to treat or recover from physical or psychological injury or disability caused by an incident of stalking, domestic violence, or sexual abuse;
    2. Obtain services from a victim services organization;
    3. Obtain psychological or other counseling services;
    4. Temporarily or permanently relocate;
    5. Take legal action, including preparing for or participating in any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or resulting from an incident of stalking, domestic violence, or sexual abuse; or
    6. Take other actions to enhance the physical, psychological, or economic health or safety of the employee or the employee’s family member or to enhance the safety of those who associate or work with the employee.

1279.6    Unused paid leave accrued by a covered employee who separates from employment and is rehired within one (1) year of separation shall be reinstated. The employee shall be entitled to use the accrued paid leave and accrue additional paid leave immediately upon re-employment provided that the employee had previously been eligible to use paid leave.

1279.7    Unused paid leave accrued by an employee subject to this section who separates from employment for more than one (1) year, shall not be reinstated, and the employee shall be considered as being on a new appointment for purposes of leave accrual and access as provided in Subsections 1279.3 and 1279.4.

1279.8    The use of paid leave by a covered employee in accordance with this section shall not subject the employee to discipline, termination, demotion, suspension or other corrective or adverse action.

1279.9  If the Mayor (or his or her designee) determines that a District agency under the Mayor’s personnel authority has violated any provisions of this section, the Mayor (or his or her designee) shall order affirmative remedies in accordance with provisions contained in the Act.

1279.10  The District government shall retain records documenting the hours worked and the paid leave taken by an employee subject to the provisions of this section for a period of three (3) years. The District government shall allow access to the retained records by the Mayor and the D.C. Auditor, with appropriate notice.

1279.11  For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed:

Domestic violence – an intrafamily offense as defined in D.C. Official Code § 16-1001(8).

Employee – any individual employed by the District government. Family member – (a) a spouse, including the person identified by an employee as his or her domestic partner, as defined in Section 2(3) of the Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992, effective June 11, 1992 (D.C. Law 9-114; D.C. Official Code § 32-701(3) (2012 Repl.)); (b) the parents of a spouse; (c) children (including foster children and grandchildren); (d) the spouses of children; (e) parents; (f) brothers and sisters; (g) the spouses of brothers and sisters; (h) a child who lives with an employee and for whom the employee permanently assumes and discharges parental responsibility; or (i) a person with whom the employee shares or has shared, for not less than the preceding twelve (12) months, a mutual residence and with whom the employee maintains a committed relationship, as defined in Section 2(1) of the Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992, effective June 11, 1992 (D.C. Law 9-114; D.C. Official Code § 32- 701(1)).

Paid leave – accrued increments of compensated leave provided by the District for use by an employee.

Sexual abuse – any offense described in the Anti-Sexual Abuse Act of 1994, effective May 23, 1995 (D.C. Law 10-257; D.C. Official Code §§ 22-3001 et seq. (2012 Repl. & 2016 Supp.)).


1280     Parental Leave


1280.1    District government employees are covered by the provisions of the Parental Leave Act (Act), effective August 17, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-146; D.C. Official Code §§ 32-1201, et seq. (2010 Repl.)). Regulations on the Act, adopted by the Office of Human Rights, are contained in Chapter 17, Parental Leave, of title 4 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.

1280.2    An employee who is a parent shall be entitled to a total of twenty four (24) hours leave during any twelve (12)-month period to attend or participate in school-related events of his or her child.

1280.3    An employer may deny the leave only if the granting of it would disrupt the employer’s business and make the achievement of production or service delivery unusually difficult. 1280.4 For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed:

Parent – (a) the natural mother or father of a child; (b) a person who has legal custody of a child; (c) a person who acts as a guardian of a child regardless of whether he or she has been appointed legally as such; (d) an aunt, uncle, or grandparent of a child; or (e) a person who is married to, or in a domestic partnership with a person listed in categories (a) through (d) of this definition.

School-related event – an activity sponsored by either a school or an associated organization such as a parent-teacher association. A school-related event includes: a student performance such as a concert, play, or rehearsal; the sporting game of a school team or practice; a meeting with a teacher or counselor; or any similar type of activity. A school-related event shall involve the parent’s child directly either as participant or subject but not as a spectator.

1280.5    The parental leave described in subsection 1280.2 of this section may consist of unpaid leave unless the parent elects to use any paid family, vacation, personal, compensatory, or leave bank leave that has been provided by the employer.

1280.6    Eligible employees shall notify the employer of the desire for leave to attend a school-related event at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the event, unless the need to attend the schoolrelated event cannot be reasonably foreseen.

1280.7    Employers shall post and maintain in a conspicuous place, a notice that sets forth excerpts from or summaries of the pertinent provisions of the Act and information that pertains to the filing of a complaint under the Act.


1281     Family and Medical Leave


1281.1    District government employees are covered by the provisions of D.C. Official Code § 32-501 et seq. (2006) establishing the D.C. FMLA; and the provisions of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (federal FMLA), approved January 5, 1993 (P.L. 103-3; 107 Stat. 7; 29 U.S. Code §§ 2611 et seq.).

1281.2    Personnel authorities may set forth written procedures for granting leave to employees under the D.C. FMLA and the federal FMLA.


1282     Voluntary Leave Transfer Program


1282.1    District government employees are covered by the provisions of D.C. Official Code § 1- 612.31 et seq. (2006) establishing the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program for the District government.

1282.2    In accordance with D.C. Official Code § 1-612.32 (a) (2006), each District government agency shall establish a voluntary leave transfer program for its employees, under which annual or universal leave accrued or accumulated by an employee may be transferred on an hour-for-hour basis within the agency to the annual or universal leave account of any other eligible agency employee.

1282.3    In accordance with D.C. Official Code § 1-612.32 (b) (2006), a voluntary transfer of leave is authorized when a potential recipient employee will suffer a prolonged absence due to:

  1. The employee’s serious health condition; or
  2. The employee’s responsibility to provide personal care to an immediate relative.


1283     Government Family Leave Program - General Provisions


1283.1    Eligible District government employees are entitled to up to eight (8) workweeks of paid family leave within a twelve (12) month period for a single qualifying event. Qualifying events are described in Subsection 1284.2.

1283.2    For the purposes of determining the number of hours of paid family leave to which an employee may be entitled, a workweek shall be calculated as the average weekly hours paid within the preceding six (6) months, excluding overtime, or, if reliable historical data is not available, the number of hours scheduled for an employee’s typical tour of duty.

1283.3    An eligible employee shall receive paid family leave for only one (1) qualifying event within a twelve (12) month period.

1283.4    For purposes of Sections 1283 through 1288, the following meanings apply:

  1. “Child” means a person under twenty-one (21) years of age; an individual, regardless of age, who is substantially dependent upon the employee due to physical or mental disability; or a person under twenty-three (23) years of age who is a full-time student at an accredited college or university.
  2. “Conditional approval” means the temporary approval of an application when the employee cannot provide the required documentary proof prior to the qualifying event, including in instances of an emergency.
  3. “Eligible employee” means a District government employee, other than a temporary employee appointed for less than ninety (90) days, an intermittent employee, and any other employee who is not eligible to accrue annual leave.
  4. “Family member” means an individual related to the employee by blood, marriage, domestic partnership, or legal custody (including foster care); a child who lives with the employee and for whom the employee has permanently assumed and discharges parental responsibility; and an individual with whom the employee shares or has shared, within the last year, a mutual residence and with whom the employee maintains a committed relationship.
  5. “Serious health condition” means a physical or mental illness, injury, or impairment that involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility; or continuing treatment, or supervision at home by a health care provider or other competent individual, as defined in Section 2(9) of the District of Columbia Family and Medical Leave Act of 1990 (Act), effective October 3, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-181; D.C. Official Code § 32-501(9)).


1284     Government Family Leave Program - Eligibility


1284.1    To be eligible for the paid family leave program, the employee must meet the following criteria:

  1. The employee must not be a temporary employee appointed for less than ninety (90) days; or
  2. The employee must not be an intermittent employee, as defined in Section 1299;
  3. The employee must not have received (or been paid) paid family leave benefits for another qualifying in the twelve (12) months preceding the start date for the new qualifying event; and
  4. The qualifying event experienced by the employee must have occurred within twelve (12) months before the start date of the employee’s paid family leave.

1284.2    An employee may be eligible for paid leave under this section for any of the following qualifying events:

  1. The birth of a child of the employee;
  2. The legal placement of a child with the employee (such as through adoption, guardianship, or foster care);
  3. The placement of a child with the employee, when the employee permanently assumes and discharges parental responsibility for that child; or
  4. When a family member suffers from a serious health condition, as defined in Section 1283 of this chapter that requires the employee’s care.

1284.3    An eligible employee shall provide proof that a qualifying event has occurred within the last twelve (12) months, or will likely occur in the next twelve (12) weeks, by submitting one (1) of the following:

  1. For the birth of a child, a certificate of live birth listing the employee as a legal parent or other reliable documentation evidencing the birth of the employee’s child (unless waived by the agency);
  2. For legal placement of a child, a certified copy of the court order granting the employee legal custody of the child;
  3. For non-legal placements of a child, two (2) official records establishing the employee as a named caregiver to the child (such as school enrollment, insurance records, or medical records); and reliable documentation as to the date when the placement occurred (such as insurance records and certificates of death); or
  4. For the care of a family member with a serious health condition:
    1. Government or other reliable documentation establishing a family relationship (including but not limited to, birth certificate, marriage license, court order, joint lease, and joint bank account statement); and
    2. A completed Certification of Health Care Provider for Family Member’s Serious Health Condition, on a form supplied by the personnel authority.

1284.4    A child returning from residing away from the employee while attending an accredited college or university, summer school, or any other routine or temporary relocation, including visits with relatives or friends, shall not constitute placement with the employee under the paid family leave program.


1285     Government Family Leave Program - Application


1285.1    To apply for paid family leave, an employee shall submit the District of Columbia Family and Medical Leave Act (DCFMLA), Request for Family and Medical Leave and Government Family Leave application and provide any required additional documentation to his or her agency FMLA Coordinator.

1285.2    Application materials shall be submitted to the agency FMLA Coordinator at least thirty (30) days prior to the qualifying event, if possible. Absent good cause, a failure to provide the requisite notice may result in delaying a decision on the requested leave until the required certification is provided.

1285.3    If an agency has reason to doubt the validity of the medical documentation provided by the employee, the agency shall consult with its agency counsel prior to requesting that the employee obtain a second opinion from another health care provider.

1285.4    The application materials shall be reviewed by the FMLA Coordinator for a determination of eligibility. The FMLA components of the application, if applicable, shall be reviewed and processed in accordance with the rules established by the Office of Human Rights.

1285.5    If the employee cannot provide the required documentary proof prior to the qualifying event, the application may be conditionally approved. In such a case, the necessary documentation must be received by the agency FMLA Coordinator no more than four (4) weeks following the qualifying event.

1285.6    Following a review of the application for paid family leave, the FMLA Coordinator shall approve, conditionally approve, or deny the application. An application may only be denied when the employee fails to provide the required proof (requisite documentation), or is otherwise ineligible.

1285.7    If the application is approved, the employee shall be credited with a family leave balance equal to the time needed for the qualifying event, up to eight (8) workweeks as specified in Subsections 1283.1 and 1283.2.

1285.8    Credited paid family leave may be used in increments for an approved qualifying event, but each increment shall not be less than one (1) day. When used intermittently, the agency may require additional documentation to verify the leave is used for the qualifying event.

1285.9    When paid family leave is used intermittently as provided in this chapter, such usage shall be requested in the same manner as sick leave as provided in Subsection 1242.5 of this chapter.

1285.10  Employees needing intermittent leave for foreseeable medical treatment must work with their employers to schedule leave so as not to unduly disrupt the employer’s operations, subject to the approval of the employee’s health care provider.

1285.11  Leave credited under this section shall expire on the earlier of:

  1. The length of the leave period approved in the application; or
  2. Twelve (12) months following the date of the qualifying event.


1286     Government Family Leave Program - Protections and Limitations


1286.1    An employee who seeks or exercises his or her right to paid family leave shall enjoy the same employment and benefits protections afforded under DCFMLA (D.C. Official Code §§ 32-501 et seq.) and federal FMLA (29 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq.).

1286.2    An employee’s use of paid family leave shall count against the sixteen (16) workweeks of family leave under Section 3 of the DCFMLA (D.C. Official Code 32-502) and, against the twelve (12) workweeks under the federal FMLA.

1286.3    An employee approved for paid family leave shall:

  1. Retain his or her employment, seniority, and group health plan coverage while on paid family leave; and
  2. Be returned to the same position that he or she held prior to commencing paid family leave, or to a substantially similar position, upon returning to work.

1286.4    An employee shall accrue annual and sick leave while on paid family leave.

1286.5    Paid family leave shall only be used for the purposes outlined in Sections 1283 and 1284 and only for the qualifying event for which approved.

1286.6    An employee may not expand his or her DCFMLA protections beyond sixteen (16) weeks by applying for paid family leave for the same qualifying event in which the DCFMLA was previously approved.

1286.7    An employee on paid family leave may not engage in outside employment if that employment would conflict with the employee’s typical tour of duty with the District of Columbia government.

1286.8    An employee on paid family leave must provide care to the child or family member for whom the leave was approved on each day for which paid family leave is used. An employee shall not receive paid family leave when the qualifying child or family member is entrusted to the care of another individual (such as an aunt, uncle, sibling, etc.), other than a medical professional, for four (4) or more hours during the employee’s typical tour of duty.

1286.9    A probationary employee who receives paid family leave shall have their probationary period extended by the length of the paid family leave.

1286.10  The maximum amount of time a probationary period can be extended, as provided in Subsection 1286.9 of this section, is eight (8) workweeks.


1287     Government Family Leave Program - Premium Pay


1287.1    A District government employee who qualifies for and has been approved for paid family leave shall not be entitled to receive premium pay, as provided in Chapter 11 of the regulations, during hours that an employee receives paid family leave.


1288     Government Family Leave Program - Misuse of Paid Family Leave


1288.1    When an agency head (or his or her designee) has determined that an employee has used paid family leave for a purpose other than that specified in supporting documentation submitted by the employee, or as provided in this chapter, the application shall be void and the action considered fraud against the District government, and the employee may be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with Chapter 16.

1288.2    Upon determination that fraud has been committed as provided in Subsection 1288.1, the inappropriate usage of paid family leave shall be counted as a debt to the District government as provided in Chapter 29.


1299     Definitions


1299.1    When used in this chapter, the following terms have the meaning ascribed:

Absence without leave – an unauthorized and unapproved absence from duty; also referred to as “AWOL.”

Accrued leave – the leave earned by an employee during the current leave year that is unused at any given time in that leave year.

Accumulated leave – the unused leave remaining to the credit of an employee at the beginning of the leave year.

Administrative leave – an excused absence from duty without loss of pay and without charge to annual leave, sick leave, or compensatory time.

Administrative workweek – a period of seven (7) consecutive calendar days, Sunday through Saturday.

Agency—has the meaning set forth in D.C. Official Code § 1-603.01(1).

Alternative work schedules – means both flexible work schedules and compressed work schedules.

Annual leave – leave earned by an employee to be used for absence from duty, without loss of pay, primarily for a vacation or time off for personal or emergency purposes.

Annual leave bank—a fund of accumulated annual leave donated by employees of a personnel authority for the use of leave bank members of that personnel authority who need such leave because of a medical emergency.

Basic workweek – the days and hours within an administrative workweek that make up the employee’s scheduled tour of duty.

Biweekly pay period – two (2) designated consecutive administrative workweeks as established by the pay authority.

Biweekly rate of basic pay—the biweekly rate of pay fixed by appropriate authority, before deductions and exclusive of any premium pay, authorized for the grade of the position held by the employee.

Child—a person twenty-one (21) years of age, and also persons who, though twenty-one (21) years of age or older, are substantially dependent upon the eligible employee by reason of physical or mental disability, and persons up to twenty-three (23) years of age and a full-time student at an accredited college or university.

Communicable disease – a disease that is ruled as subject to quarantine, requires isolation of the patient, or requires restriction of movement by the patient for a specified period as prescribed by the health authorities having jurisdiction.

Compressed work schedule – in the case of a full-time employee, an eighty-hour (80-hour) biweekly basic work requirement that is scheduled for less than ten (10) workdays; in the case of a part-time employee, a biweekly basic work requirement of less than eighty (80) hours that is scheduled for less than ten (10) workdays and which may require the employee to work more than eight (8) hours in a day (D.C. Official Code § 1-510 (b)) (2006).

Core hours – the time periods during the workday, workweek, or pay period that are within the tour of duty during which an employee under a flexible work schedule is required to be present for work.

Days – unless specifically provided otherwise, calendar days for periods of more than ten (10) days and business days for periods of ten (10) days or less.

District of Columbia Family and Medical Leave Act (DCFMLA) – refers to the District of Columbia Family and Medical Leave Act of 1990 (Act), effective October 3, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-181; D.C. Official Code §§ 32-501, et seq.)

Employee—has the meaning provided in D.C. Official Code § 1-603.01(7), except that it shall mean only an employee who accrues annual leave as provided in D.C. Official Code § 1-612.03.

Excused absence—an absence from duty administratively authorized and approved without loss of pay and without charge to leave.

Family member – the spouse (including the person identified by an employee as his or her “domestic partner” as defined in D.C. Official Code § 32-701 (2006) and parents thereof, children (including foster children) and spouses thereof, parents, brothers and sisters and spouses thereof, and any individual related by blood.

Full-time employee – earns leave during each full biweekly pay period while in a pay status or in a combination of a pay status and a non-pay status.

Flexible work schedule – in the case of a full time employee, a work schedule that has an eighty-hour (80- hour) biweekly basic work requirement that allows an employee to determine his or her own schedule within the designated hours (core hours) set by the employing agency; in the case of a part-time employee, a work schedule that has a biweekly basic work requirement of less than eighty (80) hours which allows an employee to determine his or her own schedule within the designated hours set by the employing agency.

FLSA compensatory time – time off in lieu of overtime pay for overtime work performed, earned and accrued under the conditions set forth in Chapter 11 of these regulations.

Hourly rate of basic pay—

  1. For employees paid on an annual basis, the employee's scheduled rate of pay divided by two thousand eighty (2080) hours; except that for uniformed members of the Fire Fighting Division of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, the employee's scheduled rate of pay divided by the number of work hours contained in the work year; and
  2. For employees paid on an hourly basis, the hourly rate of pay contained on the salary schedule.

Immediate relative – an individual who is related to an employee covered by this chapter by blood, marriage, adoption, or domestic partnership as father, mother, child, husband, wife, sister, brother, aunt uncle, grandparent, grandchild, or similar familial relationship; an individual for whom an employee covered by this chapter is the legal guardian; or fiancé, fiancée, or domestic partner of an employee covered by this chapter.

Judicial or administrative proceeding – any administrative, civil or criminal action, suit, or other proceeding of a judicial nature, whether at law or in equity, before an administrative law judge, hearing examiner (or its equivalent) or judge. Proceedings of a judicial nature include, but are not limited to hearings, grand jury proceedings, and conferences conducted by a prosecuting attorney for the purpose of determining whether an information or charge should be made in a particular case.

Leave bank member—an employee who donates at least four (4) hours of annual leave in a leave year to the annual leave bank established by his or her personnel authority.

Leave donor—an employee who donates annual leave to the annual leave bank established by his or her personnel authority.

Leave recipient—a leave bank member whose personnel authority has approved the member's application to receive annual leave from the annual leave bank.

Leave restriction – a limitation on an employee’s ability to use annual or sick leave as a result of engaging in a pattern or practice of abuse of leave.

Leave to which otherwise entitled – accumulated and accrued annual leave, sick leave, and compensatory time.

Leave without pay – a temporary nonpay status and absence from duty granted at the employee’s request or as otherwise authorized by regulations; also referred to as “LWOP.”

Leave year – the period beginning with the first day of the first complete pay period in a calendar year and ending with the day immediately preceding the first day of the first complete pay period in the following calendar year.

Medical certificate – a written statement signed by a registered practicing physician or other practitioner certifying to the incapacitation, examination, or treatment, or to the period of disability while the patient was receiving professional treatment.

Medical condition – a health impairment that results from injury or disease, including psychiatric disease, or any other physical or mental impairment that may affect an individual’s capacity to safely and satisfactorily perform his or her assigned duties.

Medical emergency—a medical condition of an employee or a member of an employee's family that is likely to require the employee's absence from duty for a prolonged period of time and to result in a substantial loss of income to the employee because of the unavailability of paid leave.

Official duty station – the place at which the employee is required to perform duties.

Personnel authority—an individual or entity authorized by D.C. Official Code § 1-604.06(b) to implement personnel rules and regulations for employees of an agency or group of agencies of the District of Columbia; or persons delegated that authority by that individual or entity.

Personal emergency – an urgent circumstance, outside of the employee’s control, which prevents an employee from reporting to work. A personal emergency may include, but is not limited to, a personal illness, illness of an immediate family member, and a household emergency. In this context, personal emergencies are temporary in nature. Should an employee require extended time away from work, he or she should consult with his or her agency to receive information on the potential eligibility for federal FMLA or D.C. FMLA.

Prolonged period of time—at least ten (10) consecutive workdays.

Relative with respect to an employee, an individual who is related to the employee as a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, or half-sister.

Scheduled tour of duty – the period within an administrative workweek, within which employees are required to be on duty regularly.

Sick leave – leave with pay earned by an employee to be used while receiving medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment; while incapacitated for the performance of duties by sickness, injury, or pregnancy or childbirth; while required to give care or attendance to a family member who is afflicted with a contagious disease; or when the employee’s presence at his or her official duty station would jeopardize the health of others because of exposure to a contagious disease.

Situational telework – a temporary arrangement approved, in writing, in advance, in which the employee is authorized to telework for, but not limited to, the completion of a project or report, due to an injury or illness which prevents the employee from physically reporting to his or her official worksite, or due to a home repair emergency.

Standby time – period(s) in which an employee is officially ordered to remain at or within the confines of his or her official duty station, not performing actual work but holding himself or herself in readiness to perform actual work when the need arises or when called.

Substantial loss of income—pay which is more than fifty percent (50%) of the employee's biweekly rate of basic pay.

Substantially similar position – employees in an agency with the same grade, location, tour of duty, and with like duties and responsibilities.

Telework – an arrangement in which an employee regularly, or during a declared emergency, performs officially assigned duties at his or her home, and which is approved, in advance and in writing, by the employee’s immediate supervisor and agency head.

Uniformed member – for purposes of this chapter, the term uniformed member refers to a sworn employee of the Metropolitan Police Department or an employee who is a firefighter, emergency medical technician, or paramedic with the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.

Unscheduled leave – any leave approved (granted) by an employee’s immediate supervisor when the request for such leave occurred less than twenty-four (24) hours before the leave period is scheduled to begin.

Unscheduled telework – an employee who is on an approved telework agreement may telework without obtaining advance approval when a declared emergency is in effect on a day or during a period during which the employee was not previously scheduled to telework.

When Actually Employed (WAE) Appointment – an appointment under which an employee serves on an intermittent basis, that is, nonfull-time without a prescheduled regular tour of duty. A person serving on a WAE appointment provides occasional or irregular services on programs or projects requiring intermittent support. This type of appointment is also referred to as an “intermittent appointment.”


-     Addendum


The following D.C. Register citations identify when a given section(s) of Chapter 12, Hours or Work, Legal Holidays and Leave, of Title 6 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations, was amended. Following the publication in the D.C. Register of subsequent final rulemaking notices, this Addendum will be updated accordingly.

For the convenience of DPM subscribers, the Addendum identifies amendments on a section-by-section basis; identifies the page(s) in a DPM Transmittal impacted by the amendment(s); and provides brief comments on the amendment(s) accomplished.

D.C. Register Date Section(s) Transmittal No. Comments
40 DCR 1292 (2/12/93) Section 1250 DPM Transmittal No. 33 (March 11, 2003) The rules added a new section 1250, Annual Leave Bank, to the chapter.
49 DCR 9056 (10/4/02) Sections 1250 through 1258; 1259; and 1299 DPM Transmittal No. 89 The rules added a new section 1259, Excused Absence in Connection with Serving as a Bone Marrow or Organ Donor, to the chapter, updated the citations in sections 1250 through 1258; and added a definition of the term “excused absences” to the chapter.
54 DCR 11538 (11/30/07) Entire chapter DPM Transmittal No. 156 These rules amended the chapter to implement all the provisions of Title XII of the CMPA. Also, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published at 54 DCR 9780 (10/12/07) superseded the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published at 29 DCR 3727 (9/27/82); and supplemented sections 1250 through 1259 and 1299 related to the annual leave bank program; excused absence in connection with serving as a bone marrow or organ donor; and definitions, respectively, published at 40 DCR 1292 (2/12/93) and amended at 49 DCR 9056 (10/4/02). These sections were unaffected by the Notice of Final Rulemaking published on 11/30/07, and remain in effect as previously published, except that this notice would add definitions not previously included in section 1299 of the chapter.
55 DCR 012489 (12/12/08) Section 1299 DPM Transmittal No. 177 Added the definition for the term “immediate relative” to section 1299 of the chapter.
59 DCR 02690 (4/6/12) Sections 1201.1; 1204.2(e); 1210.5 through 1210.6; 1211.8; 1212.1 through 1212.6; 1220.1; 1227.1; 1232.1 through 1232.2; 1232.6 through 1232.8; 1233.1 through 1233.5; 1235.1 through 1235.5; 1236.1 through 1236.7; 1237.1 through 1237.3; 1239.1 through 1239.4; 1240.1 through 1240.5; 1243.1 through 2193.8; 1244.1 through 1244.2; 1250.1 through 1250.2; 1258.2 through 1258.4; 1266.4; 1266.23; 1270 through 1270.9; 1271.3; 1272.4; 1273.5; 1279.1 through 1279.9; and 1280.1 through 1280.7 DPM Transmittal No. 203 These rules amended section 1270 to change the term “emergency employees” to “essential employees” when designating employees required to be at work when an emergency situation is declared by the Mayor and to add a new category to be designated as “emergency employees.” In addition, these rules added new sections 1279 (Paid Leave Pursuant to the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008) and 1280 (Parental Leave); and amended subsection 1204.2(e), regarding the lunch period provided to certain District government employees; amended subsection 1211.8, regarding telecommuting; changed the heading of section 1212 of the chapter from “Rest Periods” to “Rest and Lunch Periods”. Also amend sections 1227.1; 1232.6, 1232.7, 1232.8, 1233.5, 1232, 1236.2; 1237.1; 1239; 1240.3, 1242.4, 1243, and 1244.2 related annual and sick leave.
D.C. Law 20-83 (2/22/14) 1261 and 1299 DPM Transmittal No. 219 This Transmittal is being issued following the enactment of the Funeral and Memorial Service Leave Amendment Act of 2013 (D.C. Law 20- 83) (Act). The transmittal incorporates provisions of D.C. Law 20-83 which amended section 1261, Funeral Leave, to provide that an employee shall be entitled to not more than three (3) days of authorized absence, without loss of or reduction in his or her pay, or leave to make arrangements for, or attend the funeral of, or memorial service for, an immediate relative. Additionally, the law repealed subsection 1261.3 and the definition of the term “Combat zone” in section 1299, Definitions; and the term “immediate relative” was amended.
63 DCR 007646 (5/20/16) Sections 1204, 1208, 1209, 12,11, 1223, 1261, 1270 through 1274, 1275 through 1278 (Reserved), 1283 through 1288, and 1299 DPM Transmittal No. 228 In addition to other changes, specific amendments included: (1) the renaming of Section 12ll from "Telecommuting" to "Telework," and the inclusion of provisions on "Situational Telework;" (2) a change to the number of additional days of leave an employee can request for funeral leave; and (3) the addition of newly added provisions on the Government Paid Family Leave Program.
64 DCR 008589 (9/1/17)
64 DCR 009052 (9/15/17)
Sections 1211.2, 1233, 1235.2, 1236 (Reserved), 1243, 1244, 1246.1, 1248.2, 1262.2, 1262.6, 1273.4, 1279, 1286.8, 1299.1 DPM Transmittal No. 229 In addition to other changes, specific amendments included: (1) re-designate Section 1236, “Emergency Annual Leave and Leave Restriction for Abuse of Emergency Annual Leave”, as [RESERVED]; (2) move provisions previously contained in Section 1244, “Sick Leave—Advancing,” to Section 1243; (3) merge provisions previously contained in Sections 1236 and 1243, “Emergency Annual Leave and Leave Restriction for Abuse of Emergency Annual Leave,” and “Emergency Sick Leave and Leave Restriction for Abuse of Sick Leave,” respectively, into Section 1244, rename Section 1244 as “Unscheduled Leave and Leave Restriction,” and amend Section 1244 to provide clarifying language on the use of annual leave, sick leave, and leave without pay during personal emergencies; (4) amend Subsection 1262.2 to provide employees on military leave for training fifteen (15) days of military leave each fiscal year; (5) amend Section 1279 for clarity and change the number of days a WAE employee must be continuously employed to ninety (90) days; (6) add clarifying language to Subsection 1286; and (7) add a definition for the term “Personal Emergency,” and amend the definitions of the terms “Telework” and “Unscheduled Leave” in Section 1299.
66 DCR 005866 (5/10/2019) 1210 DPM Transmittal No. 236 The rules added an amendment to subsection 1210.5 to allow for a compressed work schedule to exceed 10 hours for a workday if approved by the personnel authority.

DCR Issue: Vol.68 - No.13 (3/26/2021)

1265, 1299.1   The proposed rules amend § 1265 to clarify that employees are eligible for paid court leave only if the District of Columbia, the United States, or another state or local government is a party in a judicial or administrative matter. The rulemaking also clarifies when an employee is eligible for travel reimbursement. The revision indicates when paid court leave is not applicable and when other types of leave may be used. Lastly, a new definition is added to § 1299 for “judicial proceedings”. The definition is moved from § 1265.1 to § 1299 to make all definitions easier to locate. The definition of “relative” is added to § 1299 to further clarify exclusions from paid court leave.
DCR Issue: Vol 69/8 (2/25/2022) 1211, 1229, 1232, 1233, 1244, 1261, 1262, 1266, 1299   Subsection 1211.17, which requires subordinate agencies to submit annual telework data, is repealed as DCHR has the ability to obtain the necessary information electronically to adequately oversee telework programs; subsection 1229.2 is amended to make clear that leave is considered “scheduled leave” when it is requested at least one business day prior to when the leave is scheduled to begin and is approved; subsections 1232.6 and 1232.7 is modified to provide clarifying language on the annual leave accrual rate of an individual who retired under any District or federal government retirement system and is subsequently reemployed in the District government as a full-time or part-time employee; Under the existing 1233.1, government service for annual leave purposes means service creditable under the Civil Service Retirement System (5 U.S.C. § 8332) and the District of Columbia government’s 401(a) program; is adopted, 1233.1 to expand creditable service for annual leave accrual purposes to include District government service under any District government retirement program to capture service performed at independent agencies and municipalities who do not participate in the 401(a) program. Subsection 1233.5 is repealed as there are currently no employees with CSRS annuities eligible for offset upon reemployment. Subsection 1244.1 is amended for conformity with Subsection 1229.2; Section 1261 is amended by adding a new family bereavement leave benefit at § 1261.2, pursuant to the District Government Family Bereavement Leave Temporary Amendment Act of 2021, effective June 24, 2021 (D.C. Law 24-7; 68 DCR 4803). Existing §§ 1261.2, 1261.3 and 1261.4 are made lettered paragraphs (b), (c), and (d), respectively, of existing § 1261.1; Subsections 1262.2, 1262.3, and 1262.6 is amended to remove reference to temporary appointment pending establishment of a register (TAPER), to reference fiscal years (instead of calendar years) in accordance with language in Section 1203(m) of the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-139; D.C. Official Code § 1-612.03(m)), to state that eligible full-time employees can be credited with one hundred and twenty (120) hours of military leave (previously fifteen [15] days) per fiscal year, to include a provision on military leave for part-time employees, to address the rollover of military leave from one fiscal year to another, and to explain the treatment of non-workdays during military leave periods; Subsection 1262.13 is repealed because content related to military leave granted under Subsection 1262.2 is being modified and moved to 1262.2(d) and (e); Subsection 1266.10 currently authorizes agencies to provide employees up to two hours of administrative leave for purposes of an initial EAP appointment; is adopted,  subsection 1266.10 will entitle an employee to two (2) hours of administrative leave for an initial EAP appointment and will also provide agencies the flexibility to authorize additional administrative leave for EAP and wellness services as part of their comprehensive wellness programs; Subsections 1266.14 and 1266.15 is amended to implement the requirements of section 7a of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699; D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.07a), to grant employees two (2) hours of leave for purposes of voting in local elections, authorize agencies to provide an addition two (2) hours of administrative leave when needed to vote, and to allow agencies to specify the hours during which an employee may take leave to vote; and Subsection 1299.1 is amended to add a definition for “days.”