Q. It’s permanent change of station time for me again as a military spouse. My current command is saying they will only grant 90 days of leave without pay and, if I don’t find employment within 90 days, they will process my resignation 50.
This is the first time a command has said they would only grant 90 days of LWOP. In the past, it has been two six-month LWOP 50s, which I never used. And 150-day increments which I also did not use up.
I’m concerned about not being able to find employment within 90 days due to the hard/soft hiring freeze and that we are PCSing to Newport, R.I., which doesn’t have a large DoD presence. Can you please provide the guidance on what length of LWOP I can or can’t be granted?
A. According to OPM, “Leave without pay is a temporary nonpay status and absence from duty that, in most cases, is granted at the employee’s request. In most instances, granting LWOP is a matter of supervisory discretion and may be limited by agency internal policy.” It appears that your agency’s internal policy has changed since you last went on LWOP.
