Q. 1. Does management have a right to use leave without pay as a basis of a “black eye” and keep an employee from being promoted even though the employee has exceptional rating for more than three years? 2. Can management require a probationary period of one year prior to promotion if the employee is qualified and filling a GS-5,6,7 position as a GS-5 where the employee was promised to be promoted once accepting the position in front of witnesses? The employee needed to be on LWOP due to excessive use of leave taking care of a family member’s medical…
Browsing: LEAVE
Q. Can you please comment on any pros and cons to retiring Nov. 29, 2014? I will have a prior balance of 208 hours of annual leave and 192 hours in 2014 accumulated as of that date and do not want to forfeit the use-or-lose balance.
Q. I am a 59-year-old FERS employee with 33 years of federal service. If I retire in May 2015, four months short of my 62nd birthday, will my 900-plus sick leave hours be used to push my service date past my birthday and therefore make me eligible for the .011 pension multiplier (instead of the .01 multiplier)?
Q. I’m FERS and will have 28 years and nine months in at my minimum retirement age of 56. I have a sick leave balance of 2,819 hours (I’ve never used any sick leave in my whole career). I’m 54 now and will work at least until 56. My sick leave credit will give me more time toward my FERS annuity (approximately 30 years). Does the sick leave give me 30 toward the special retirement supplement if I go at my MRA, or do I need to work until I have 30 years of service, which is three years from…
Q. I am a full-time federal employee with more than two years of service, and I am also a veteran with eight years of active-duty service. I was informed by my supervisor that I should be accruing more than four hours of annual leave per pay period based on my years of service from the military. I am paying to buy back those eight years of military service. Do I have to wait until my eight years of service have been paid for to have my annual leave accrual adjusted, or should it be adjusted right away? I am a…
Q. My father was recently told he can no longer work. He is 62. The damage and arthritis in his hands is getting worse and he needs to file for workers’ compensation. The doctor also recommended early retirement. Can he file both? Should he do one or the other first to maximize his benefits since this was not anticipated?
Q. I am looking at retiring in January 2015. I will be 56 years old Oct. 15. I will have 30 years in as of Dec. 24. Waiting until the end of leave year to cash in all available annual leave. I am looking at cashing out my Thrift Savings Plan in a lump sum to pay off all debts. Will that income be considered part of earned income so that the special retirement supplement is reduced? If so, would it be in my interest to retire at the end of 2014 so that my annual leave hits that year…
Q. I was recently told by a more senior colleague that it is valuable to accrue the maximum amount of vacation days you can in your first year, such that you get the greatest value/return when you finally retire (assumes you don’t use this maximum amount and roll it over year over year). Is this true? Why is that the case? Is it because when you retire (if you have unused vacation days), you can request their value in payment/cash rather than taking them as time off?
Q. I am completely out of annual leave and sick leave and have recently received a cancer diagnosis. My local human resources department has informed me of two options: voluntary leave transfer program and advance leave request. However, I don’t want to have to worry about losing my job, etc., and may not feel good enough to come back to my old job. What are my options? Are there any disability benefits available to me? What is early retirement for someone like me who is only 48 years old and has eight years of service with the Veterans Affairs Department?
Q. Does the lump-sum payment for annual leave count against maximum earnings to be eligible for the special retirement supplement? Also, if I choose a retirement date and the application begins processing, can I back out before that date?