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The intent of this memorandum is to provide guidance pertaining to the processing and reporting of administrative leave, related to Executive Order (EO) 14019 on Promoting Access to Voting, signed by the President on March 7, 2021.
Below is a summary of the circumstances listed within the EO 14019, which allow Federal employees to use up to 4-hours of administrative leave for voting. Additional details can be found using the following link for the specific guidance issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM):
OPM Announces Paid Time Off for Federal Employees to Vote
- Employees can use up to 4-hours of administrative leave for voting in connection with each Federal general election day.
- Employees can use up to 4 hours of administrative leave for voting in connection with each election event (including primaries and caucuses) at the Federal, State, local (i.e., county and municipal), Tribal, and territorial level.
- Employees can use up to 4 hours of administrative leave for Federal special Congressional elections not held on the date of a Federal general election.
- Employees can use up to 4 hours of administrative leave per leave year to serve as a non-partisan poll worker or to participate in non-partisan observer activities at the Federal, State, local (i.e., county and municipal), Tribal, and territorial levels.
- A “leave year” begins on the first day of the first pay period commencing on or after January 1 of the given year and ends on the day before the first day of the next leave year.
- This leave is in addition to any administrative leave an employee uses to vote.
Employee Responsibility
The Interior Business Center (IBC) recommends employees charge their timesheet to Administrative Leave (FPPS pay code 060) along with the payroll remark outlining one of the circumstances listed above, such as Voting, Poll Worker, State election event, etc.
Client-Agency Responsibility
The IBC’s client-agencies use several different time and attendance (T&A) systems. Each system may require unique handling of messages to payroll. Please give your timekeepers and/or administrators the applicable coding and payroll remarks for your T&A system(s).
Below are some important items client-agencies need to be mindful of:
- Supervisors/ Certifiers must ensure the employee has been approved prior to usage.
- Supervisors/ Certifiers must monitor the employee’s usage to ensure the 4-hours are not exceeded.
- The Federal Personnel Payroll System (FPPS) does not monitor the usage.
In the event the employee was not approved or exceeded the 4-hour usage, the client-agency must submit a corrected timesheet replacing the administrative leave used with another FPPS Leave type pay code.
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