SECTION 21.01 Annual Leave

a. Employees shall earn annual leave in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Accrual of annual leave is the right of the employee in that its accrual may not be denied. The use of annual leave is a right of the employee subject to leave being scheduled and approved by the supervisor in accordance with essential work requirements.

b. Supervisors are responsible for working with employees in planning and scheduling annual leave on a year-round basis to provide for vacation period(s) and to enable scheduling of leave that employees might otherwise forfeit. Supervisors shall advise employees with leave to be used or forfeited of the need for submitting a Standard Form 71 so the leave may be scheduled in writing before the start of the third bi-weekly pay period at the end of the leave year. If the employee does not request leave or does not use the leave that was approved, any resulting forfeiture shall be considered to be by the employee's choice. Scheduled annual leave that the employee is unable to use due to sickness or a work situation determined to be an exigency of the public business, shall be restored in a separate leave account as provided in applicable regulations. Scheduled annual leave that otherwise would be forfeited by an employee cannot be canceled unless that leave can be rescheduled prior to the end of the leave year or an exigency approved.

c. Management makes available for use the full amount of annual leave to be earned for the leave year to each permanent employee's leave account at the beginning of the leave year. No other advance of annual leave is permitted under existing law.

d. Consistent with workload and manpower requirements, Management shall maintain a liberal leave policy in circumstances such as, but not limited to:

(1) death in the employee's immediate family,

(2) illness in the employee's immediate family where the employee's care and attendance is required (see Section 21.03g of this Article regarding the the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993),

(3) holidays associated with the religious faith of the employee, or

(4) preplanned vacations.

e. Employees are expected to obtain prior approval from their supervisors for annual leave. However, there may be unforeseen circumstances or emergency situations where the employee cannot obtain the prior approval. In such circumstances the employee is expected to notify the responsible supervisor or his/her designee by 10:00 a.m. on the day of the absence of the reasons for and duration of the absence. Failure to give the required notice may result in the absence being charged to absence without leave (AWOL) unless there are extenuating circumstances. Employees also may be charged AWOL if the reasons for the unscheduled absence do not warrant the use of emergency annual leave. Time charged to AWOL is subject to review through the Negotiated Grievance Procedure (Article 16) of this Agreement.

f. The minimum charge for annual leave is one-half hour and additional charges are in multiples of one-half hour.

g. Management shall meet with GESTA before initiating any policy of forced annual leave and shall negotiate the impact of such policy.

h. Where practicable, Management will grant the use of annual leave as requested by the employee. When a supervisor has conflicting requests for leave submitted within the same pay period from several employees, the supervisor will first consider seniority along with factors such as use or lose leave balances, workload, equity, or the creation of an unfair situation for other employees or an unworkable arrangement, in determining leave approval. Nothing in this Section is intended to cause a supervisor to rescind previously approved leave.

SECTION 21.02 Sick Leave

a. Employees shall earn and be granted sick leave in accordance with applicable statutes, regulations and this Agreement. To the extent accrued, sick leave shall be granted when employees are incapacitated from the performance of duties by sickness, injury, pregnancy and confinement or for time off for medical, dental or optical examination or treatment. In addition, sick leave may be used in limited amounts and in accordance with 5 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 630.401 for the following:

(1) care for a family member, as defined in 5 CFR 630.1201, with a physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy, childbirth or medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment;

(2) making arrangements and/or attending the funeral of a family member;

(3) when exposure of an employee to a communicable disease may present a health risk to others; or

(4) adoption of a child, including appointments with adoption agencies, social workers, and attorneys; court proceedings; required travel; and any other activities necessary to allow the adoption to proceed.

b. The minimum charge for sick leave is one-half hour and additional charges are in multiples of one-half hour.

c. Employees are responsible for notifying their supervisors when they are unable to report for work because of illness or injury. Whenever possible, sick leave absences should be reported by 10:00 a.m. on the day of the absence. Employees are expected to request advanced approval from their supervisor for sick leave for prearranged medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment. When illness occurs while the employee is on duty, a visit to the Health Unit shall not be a prerequisite for granting sick leave.

d. Management agrees that a medical certificate will not be required to support sick leave absences of five (5) consecutive workdays or less. The employee's initials on the Time and Attendance Record will constitute the personal certification of the employee as to the incapacity for duty.

e. Normally, sick leave absences in excess of five (5) consecutive workdays must be supported by a medical certificate. In certain instances it may be unreasonable to require such a certificate. In such cases a signed statement by the employee stating the nature of the incapacity and the reason why a certificate was not obtained may be submitted upon return to duty in lieu of a certificate, subject to approval from the supervisor. Management may establish a deadline for the submission of the certification. This deadline will be no sooner than five (5) workdays from the employee's return to duty.

f. In cases of alleged sick leave abuse, the supervisor shall first meet with the employee to discuss the reason(s) and basis for the suspected sick leave abuse. At this meeting the employee shall be permitted an opportunity to explain the reasons for the absences and use of sick leave. If the employee's explanation is acceptable, no further action will take place. If, however, the sick leave use is still questionable, the employee may be given written notice of the special requirement for obtaining medical certificates or other evidence to support the sick leave absences. This special requirement shall be established for a specified time period, not to exceed six (6) months. GESTA will be notified in accordance with Article 8, Section 8.03h of this Agreement.

g. Sick leave may be advanced in cases of serious disabilities or ailments when required by the exigencies of the situation. To obtain the advance, the employee must submit a request in writing with a medical certificate through supervisory channels to the Director of Human Resources. An advance of sick leave may be granted only if the employee has not accrued sufficient sick leave to cover the period of incapacitation and if Management has reason to believe the employee will return to work after recovery. It is not required that an employee use annual leave before advanced sick leave is granted.

h. When sickness occurs for one or more days during a period of annual leave, the period of illness may be charged to sick leave and the charge of annual leave reduced accordingly.

i. An employee retiring for reasons of disability is entitled to use accrued sick leave prior to separation as provided in the regulations.

j. An employee who is under a doctor's instruction to limit work activities shall present a written statement from the attending physician to his/her supervisor.

SECTION 21.03 Leave Without Pay

a. Leave without pay may be granted to employees consistent with the Center's policies and applicable laws and regulations.

b. Subject to workload and staffing considerations, the Center Director or his/her designee may grant employees leave without pay in one (1) year increments or any fraction thereof in order to serve in full-time positions as officers or representatives of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers or AFL-CIO affiliates excluding positions with GESTA.

c. Leave without pay shall be granted as appropriate under regulatory requirements to protect employee status and benefits during any period pending action by the Office of Worker's Compensation Programs (OWCP) on a claim resulting from work-related injury or illness. Employees who elect to use sick or annual leave while claims are pending with OWCP shall be advised by Management as to procedures for the buy-back of leave in the event the claim for compensation benefits is approved.

d. Employees on an approved leave of absence without pay shall accrue all rights and privileges with respect to retirement status and coverage under the Group Life Insurance and Federal Employees Health Benefits Program to which they may be entitled in accordance with appropriate regulations.

e. Employees returning to duty from leave without pay shall be granted such rights, privileges and seniorities to which they may be entitled in accordance with appropriate regulations.

f. Nothing in this Article shall be construed to affect employee rights in the application of reduction-in-force procedures.

g. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, employees are entitled to up to twelve (12) workweeks of unpaid leave during any twelve (12) month period for the following purposes:

(1) birth of a child and care thereof;

(2) placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care;

(3) care of an employee's spouse, son, daughter, or parent with a serious health condition; or

(4) a serious health condition of the employee that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his/her position.

It is understood that annual or sick leave may be substituted for unpaid leave as appropriate.

SECTION 21.04 Excused Absence for Climatic/Emergency Conditions

a. If early dismissal is authorized because of weather or other emergency conditions, all nonessential employees who are in a duty status shall be excused from work without charge to leave from the time specified by the early dismissal notice.

b. Employees who apply for annual leave after receipt of the early dismissal notice shall be charged leave in multiples of one-half hour from the time they depart until the time set for dismissal. Employees who are on previously approved annual leave, sick leave or leave without pay shall be charged the type of leave previously approved for the entire or part of the day that the installation is closed.

c. Where employees make every reasonable effort to get to work on time but are unable to do so because of snow or ice storms, flooding or other severe weather conditions, supervisors may grant excused absence without charge to leave for up to one (1) hour.

d. In the event severe weather conditions develop during nonwork hours, which require the closing or delaying the opening of the installation, Management shall notify radio and TV stations in the Metropolitan Washington/Baltimore/Annapolis area.

SECTION 21.05 Excused Absence for Court Service and Jury Duty

a. In the event an employee is called for jury duty, jury duty examination, or to serve as a witness in a court case where the United States or a state or local government is a part of the proceeding, Management shall grant court leave not to exceed eight (8) hours per day, consistent with applicable regulations. This provision does not apply to appearance in court in an official duty capacity or to witness service in judicial proceedings involving private parties only.

b. Employees called for the above civic duties shall notify their supervisors promptly and submit a copy of the court order or summons. Upon completion of the jury duty or witness service, an employee shall present to his/her supervisor satisfactory evidence of the time spent performing such duty or service together with any record of jury duty or witness fees. Fees or allowances received by the employee will be treated in accordance with applicable regulations. Allowances received for travel expenses and meals shall be retained by the employee.

SECTION 21.06 Excused Absence for Voting and Registration

a. Management and GESTA mutually agree all employees should be encouraged to exercise their right to vote.

b. Excused absence without charge to leave may be granted for employees to vote in national, state, or municipal elections or referendums in their residential areas as follows:

1. When the polls are not open at least three (3) hours either before or after the employee's regular hours of work, the employee may be granted the amount of excused absence which will permit reporting to work three (3) hours after the polls open, or leave work three (3) hours before the polls close, whichever requires the lesser time off.

2. When the place of voting is beyond the normal commuting distance and in a location where absentee ballots are not permitted, the employee may be granted time off to vote, not to exceed one (1) day. If additional time is necessary for this purpose, it must be charged to leave.

c. Excused absence to register to vote may be granted on substantially the same basis as for voting except that no time will be granted if registration can be accomplished on a non-workday or during non-duty hours.

SECTION 21.07 Religious Observance

To the extent called for in Public Law 95-390, dated September 29, 1978, supervisors shall accord employees the opportunity for compensatory time work in connection with taking time off without charge to leave if the personal religious beliefs of an employee require abstention from work.

SECTION 21.08 Employees who volunteer as blood donors without compensation to off-Center blood drives sponsored by the American Red Cross, military hospitals or other blood banks or to respond to emergency calls for blood donors will be authorized up to three (3) hours of excused absence (to include travel and recuperation time). The excused absence will apply on the day the person donates blood. For the Center's blood donation program, employees may be excused for the amount of time necessary to give blood and recuperate. An employee who suffers adverse physical effects should report to the Health Unit for examination. If the examining physician determines that the adverse effects warrant excusing the employee from his/her assigned duties for the remainder of the day, the physician will notify the employee's supervisor. The supervisor will excuse the employee from duty for the remainder of the day without loss of pay and without charge to leave. The employee has the right to select the time/date that he/she wishes to donate blood subject to approval from the employee's supervisor.

SECTION 21.09 The Center agrees to continue the Leave Transfer Program.

SECTION 21.10 In lieu of using annual leave, sick leave or leave without pay, on a case by case basis and only upon formal approval in advance by the Center Director, an employee may work some or all of his/her official duty hours away from the traditional office work site for a specified time-limited period in order to accommodate a situation posing a severe personal hardship on the employee which would likely prevent the employee from continuing to work. Such an arrangement may be appropriate for varied reasons, including but not limited to recuperation of the employee or a dependent family member from major illness or injury, a personal or family crisis, or unusual home care requirements for a newborn or newly-adopted child. The alternate work site will usually be the employee's residence.

An employee wishing to pursue a work at home arrangement must, in conjunction with the supervisor, define: a fixed work schedule which includes hours to be worked at home and hours to be worked at the traditional office site; tasks which can reasonably be performed by the employee at the home work site; methods for the supervisor to transmit to and receive assignments from the employee and to account for the time and attendance; any equipment or other services needed at the home work site; and the expected duration of the work at home arrangement.