Q. I have been recently hired as a federal employee. Does my prior military service (five years) count toward the rate at which I accrue sick and annual leave?
A. According to the Office of Personnel Management, “An agency may provide credit toward an employee’s annual leave accrual rate for non-Federal service or active-duty uniformed service that otherwise would not be creditable if the individual has prior work experience directly related to the duties of the position to which he or she is being appointed and the prior experience is necessary to achieve an important agency mission or performance goal. This is a discretionary authority, not an employee entitlement.” On the other hand, sick leave is accrued at a fixed rate, four hours per pay period.
