Civilian leave reminders

Published Nov. 21, 2007
By Robert A. Warren
Employee Relations Specialist/Performance Recognition

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE -- At some point in an employee's career, there may be the need for advance annual or sick leave, so it's important for supervisors and employees to be knowledgeable of the proper procedures for advancing annual and sick leave should the need arise.
   Receiving advanced leave is not guaranteed so it is important employees maintain adequate leave balances. However, if an emergency develops, this is an option management and employees may consider.
   First, advancing annual leave requires only first-level supervisor approval. The employee will submit their request by completing the OPM Form 71, Request for Leave or Approved Absence, then forwarded to the supervisor for approval.
   If approved, the employee's time sheet should be coded LB. The supervisor can only approve the amount of annual leave the employee will earn in the remainder of the leave year. Advanced annual leave must be paid back by the end of the leave year received.
   The long standing procedures for requesting advance sick leave are more detailed. The employee begins the process by completing an OC-ALC Form 252, Request for Advance Sick Leave, and an OPM Form 71, Request for Leave or Approved Absence. Both forms can be retrieved from the DPC Web site at https://wwwmil. tinker.af.mil/dpcweb/.
   Together with these forms, the employee is also required to provide medical documentation. This information should include the current diagnosis, prognosis, and an expected return to duty date and be signed by a physician on appropriate stationary.
   To complete the request package, a current leave and earnings statement is also required. Once the package is complete, the employee will provide it to the first-level supervisor for approval or disapproval recommendation and subsequently elevated to the group commander/director-level for approval or disapproval.
   If the request is approved by management, the employee or supervisor will forward the request to the Civilian Personnel Flight, 72nd MSS/DPCET, for final processing.
   The CPF will then review the request to determine if all documentation meets the minimum requirements and calculate how much sick leave can be advanced. This can be estimated by taking the employee's retirement fund and dividing it by their hourly wage; both of these figures can be taken from the employee's leave and earnings statement.
   After determining how much sick leave can be advanced, the CPF will finalize the OC-ALC Form 252, forward to civilian payroll for processing and provide a copy to the supervisor.
   When the employee begins using the advance sick leave, the timesheet should be coded LG. It is also important to submit the request before or during the sick leave period requested but before the employee returns to duty. The Air Force Instruction prohibits advanced sick leave from being approved retroactively.
   Using advanced leave is something that should be carefully considered before being used. Any advanced leave must be paid back. The use of advanced leave may solve a short term problem, but it could cause a longer term problem as the employee will not have any leave available until the advanced leave is repaid.
   More information can be found in AFI 36-815 and by contacting Bob Warren, CPF Employee Relations Specialist, at 739-7516 or robert.warren@tinker.af.mil.