Many federal employees can carry over higher amounts of annual leave from last year into 2021.
The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) allows eligible federal employees to carry over an additional 25% of unused leave due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under current law — for most federal employees — any annual leave in excess of 240 hours is forfeited at the beginning of the leave year. Certain employees have higher annual leave carryover limits: 360 hours for certain employees stationed outside the United States and 720 hours for members of the Senior Executive Service and certain other senior officials.
For most federal employees the new temporary 2021 carryover limit is 300 hours, and the new policy is retroactive to January 3, 2021.
The Office of Personnel Management last week released guidance on the new policy here.
A table summarizing the extended leave carryover limits under the new law is below:
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Federal employees with questions regarding the new policy should contact their agency’s human resources representative.