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FROM: Ellen Bliss, Deputy Associate Director, Enterprise Management
SUBJECT: Restoration of Forfeited Annual Leave and Carryover of Leave
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The following process outlines how IBC will manage the restoration of leave and the new authorized carryover of excess leave for any annual leave that was forfeited as of the end of the 2020 year. Please pay careful attention to new processes described below related to the carryover of leave and the opportunity to amend timecards.
Carryover Leave
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NDAA Authorized Higher Carryover Limit
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 includes a higher annual leave carryover limit. This higher limit allows IBC General Schedule employees to carryover up to 300 hours of annual leave (as compared to the normal annual leave limit of 240 hours) from leave year 2020 into the 2021 leave year (referred to as “carryover Leave”).
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Restoration of Leave
Restoration of forfeited leave is available only for annual leave that meets ALL of these conditions:
The leave was requested, scheduled, and approved in Quicktime, or in writing, prior to November 21, 2020 |
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The leave was later cancelled because of public exigency or illness |
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The leave could not be rescheduled before January 2, 2021 |
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Any employee who had annual leave forfeited and believes that ALL of these three conditions were met may be eligible for leave restoration. |
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Christmas Eve
As communicated December 14, 2020, any employee who had “use or lose” annual leave scheduled for December 24, 2020 was responsible for rescheduling and using this leave prior to January 2, 2021. Any leave forfeited due to leave that was previously scheduled for Christmas Eve does not meet the requirements for restoration for annual leave and cannot be restored.
If approved, employees generally have at least two years to use restored leave.
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2021 Process
Due to this year’s implementation of a higher annual leave carryover limit, the IBC will be using the following sequential steps to approve the restoration of leave and process carryover leave.
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STEP 1: Amend Timecards
Employees who made decisions regarding the use of their annual leave with the expectation that it would be forfeited will be able to amend their timecards for:
- Pay Period 2020 25 (November 22, 2020, through December 5, 2020)
- Pay Period 2020 26 (December 6, 2020, through December 19, 2020)
- Pay Period 2021 01 (December 20, 2020, through January 2, 2021)
Employees who amend their timecards should work with their supervisor and timekeeper to ensure that the amendments are completed by the end of Pay Period 2021 03, January 30, 2021.
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NOTE: Please take care to ensure that any amendments you make reflect the accurate use of existing leave balances at that time (e.g. if you substitute the use of credit hours for annual leave, you must have available credit hours as of that pay period). You can find information about your leave balances in your Leave and Earning Statements and in the Quicktime Employee Statement report. |
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STEP 2: Review and Validate Forfeited Leave
From February to April 2021, IBC management will work with the Payroll Operations Division to identify all IBC employees who forfeited leave in the 2020 leave year.
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STEP 3: Identify Employees Eligible for Restoration of Leave
Supervisors will work with employees to identify any forfeited leave that is eligible for restoration as described above. Employees who believe they are eligible for restored leave will be asked to provide the following information and documentation (further specific instructions will be provided in March 2021):
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Number of forfeited hours |
The number of hours of annual leave forfeited for which restoration is requested |
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A copy of the written request |
A copy of the written request, dated prior to November 21, 2020 of the approval of annual leave (for example, a printout of the leave request form from Quicktime, OPM-71, or another written request) |
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A copy of the written approval |
A copy of the written approval, dated prior to November 21, 2020 of the requested annual leave (for example, a printout of the leave request form from Quicktime, OPM-71, or another written request) |
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A statement from the supervisor documenting:
- A description of the public exigency or illness that required cancellation of the scheduled and approved leave
- The beginning and ending dates of the public exigency or illness that required cancellation of the scheduled and approved leave
- A statement addressing the efforts made to reschedule and use the annual leave prior to January 2, 2021
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Employees will be notified of approved restoration of leave decisions. |
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STEP 4: Identify Employees Eligible for Carryover Leave
Remaining forfeited leave balances after restoration of leave approvals have been finalized will be reviewed to verify approved carryover leave of up to 60 hours. Employees will be notified of carryover leave determinations.
A few notes about carryover leave:
- Carryover leave must be used in the 2021 leave year.
- Carryover leave must be used prior to any other annual leave (e.g., accrued annual leave, advanced annual leave, donated annual leave, and restored leave). Therefore, organizations should track use of annual leave so that timecards can be amended to reflect the use of carryover Leave once the review and approval process is completed.
- Carryover leave is not included in annual leave lump-sum payments upon separation.
- Carryover leave cannot be donated.
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