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Leave Without Pay (LWOP) is a temporary non-pay status and absence from duty that, in most cases, is granted upon an employee's request. LWOP differs from absence without leave (AWOL) in that LWOP is an approved leave status. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), Public Law 103-3, dated February 5, 1993. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, Public Law 103-353. 5 CFR 353 It is the policy of the Department to grant leave without pay only:
Leave without pay shall not be granted for the purpose of private employment. Authorizing LWOP is a matter of supervisory discretion. Employees, however, have an entitlement to LWOP under the following situations:
Effect of Extended Leave Without Pay (LWOP) on Benefits: Life Insurance: Life Insurance (FEGLI) coverage continues for 12 consecutive months in a nonpay status without cost to the employee (5 CFR 870.401(c)), or to the agency (5 CFR 870.401(d)). The nonpay status may be continuous, or it may be broken by a return to duty for periods of less than 4 consecutive months. Health Benefits: Enrollment continues for no more than 365 days in a nonpay status. The nonpay status may be continuous or broken by periods of less than 4 consecutive months in a pay status (5 CFR 890.303(e)). The Government contribution continues while employees are in a nonpay status. The employee may choose between paying the agency directly for his or her contributions on a current basis or having the premiums accumulate and withheld from his or her pay upon returning to duty. Retirement Benefits: A total of 6 months in a nonpay status in any calendar year is creditable service. Coverage continues at no cost to the employee while in a nonpay status. When employees are in a nonpay status for only a portion of a pay period, their contributions are adjusted in proportion to their basic pay. (5 U.S.C. 8332 and 8411) An employee continues to accrue leave until the employee accumulates 80 hours of LWOP during a pay period. At this point, the employee does not earn annual or sick leave during that pay period. The employee earns leave in the next succeeding pay periods until he or she again accumulates 80 hours of LWOP during a pay period (5 CFR 630.208). When a part-time employee is in a nonpay status, he or she will accrue less annual leave and sick leave, since part-time employees earn leave based on a pro-rata basis (5 CFR 630.303 and 630.406). Agencies should refer to the TSP Bulletin No. 01-22, dated May 3, 2001. Employees should refer to the TSP Fact Sheet - Effect of Nonpay Status on TSP Participation. Both issuances are available at www.tsp.gov. Of particular importance is the requirement to notify the TSP record-keeper, the National Finance Center (NFC) when an employee with a TSP loan enters an approved nonpay status. If NFC is not notified, a taxable distribution may result. Up to 6 months in non-pay status is creditable for service computation dates. The employees SCD must be adjusted by the amount of non-pay time in excess of 6 months in one calendar year. General schedule and federal wage system employees are allotted a specific amount of time in a non-pay status before the waiting period is extended for the next within-grade increase.
General Schedule Within-grade IncreasesWaiting Period Nonpay Time Allowed
For steps 2/3/4- 52 weeks 2 workweeks (80 hrs for FT employees) For steps 5/6/7- 104 weeks 4 workweeks (160 hrs for FT employees) For steps 8/9/10-156 weeks 6 workweeks (240 hrs for FT employees)
Federal Wage System Within-grade IncreasesWaiting Period Nonpay Time Allowed
For step 2 - 26 weeks 1 workweek (40 hours for FT employees) For step 3 - 78 weeks 3 workweeks (120 hrs for FT employees) For steps 4/5 - 104 weeks 4 workweeks (160 hrs for FT employees) |
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