HRDG 4630 - Absence and Leave - Section I

Employees stationed outside the 50 States and the District of Columbia are eligible to earn home leave if one or more of the following conditions are met. Employees must be/have been:

• Directly recruited or transferred by the Federal Government from the U.S., including transfers to Puerto Rico,
• Directly recruited or transferred by the Federal Government from Puerto Rico or possessions of the U.S. for employment outside the area of recruitment or the area from which they were transferred,
• Natives of Puerto Rico or possessions of the U.S. and are temporarily absent from their homes and are directly recruited in the U.S. for service in their home areas, 
• Persons who are normally residents of the area concerned and are discharged from service in the Armed Forces of the U.S. to accept employment with the Federal Government.

Creditable service for home leave includes:

• Full credit for the day of arrival and the day of departure;
• Absence in a nonpay status up to 2 workweeks within each 12 months of service abroad;
• Authorized leave with pay;
• Any period of detail; and
• Time spent in the Armed Forces of the U.S. which interrupts otherwise creditable service. The service is included for eligibility, but not for leave earning purposes.

Creditable service for home leave accrual begins on the date an employee:

• Enters on duty (if recruited abroad);
• Arrives at overseas post following recruitment in the United States for service abroad; or
• Performs duties in an area outside the U.S. and outside the area of recruitment or area from which transferred, when performance of duty is required en route to an overseas post of regular assignment.

Creditable service for home leave accrual ends on the date an employee:

• Is separated from duty while abroad;
• Departs from the post of regular assignment for a transfer to, or reassignment in the U.S.; or
• Is given final administrative approval to effect a change in duty station when the employee is on detail or on leave in the U.S., or in an area (Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a possession of the U.S.) from which the employee was recruited or transferred.

The minimum charge for home leave is 1 day. Home leave may be granted for use only in the United States, its territories, or Puerto Rico:

• After an employee has completed 24 months of continuous service abroad, or after 18 months of continuous service abroad if the assigned tour abroad was for only 18 months;
• Only when an employee is expected to return to an assignment abroad; and
• Within 6 months after an employee returns from service abroad if he/she is expected to return to service abroad immediately or upon completion of an assignment in the United States. If home leave is not granted at such time, it may not be granted until an employee completes another substantial period of service abroad. This period of service may not be less than the tour prescribed for the employee's post of assignment unless an earlier grant of home leave is justified by an authorized official .

Home leave regulations are found in Title 5 United States Code 6304[b], 6305; Title 5 Code of Federal Regulations Part 630 Subpart F; Human Resources Desk Guide (HRDG) Subchapter 4630, Absence and Leave; and various Comptroller General (CG) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) decisions. These regulations and decisions state that:

In order to take home leave, you must be working abroad (outside of the 50 states) and eligible to earn 45 days of annual leave. You must also maintain a permanent residence within the 50 states or Puerto Rico during your period of work abroad.

In addition to using the guidance found in HRDG Subchapter 4630, Absence and Leave, Section I, supervisors may use the chart below when making home leave determinations:

In order to be eligible for home leave, you must qualify for the maximum annual leave accumulation of 45 days under the provisions of 5 U. S. C. 6304(b) (See Civilian Personnel Law Manual, Chapter 5:05, March 1996). Once this data is verified, a determination must be made on residency status. In making the determination, please note that nothing precludes you from establishing a residence in another location. (For travel determinations see: 72 FPBR 1067 [CG B-175378; 51 CG 828 dtd 6/19/1972].)

Example: You were born and raised in Puerto Rico. You worked the last 10 years in New York City and established permanent residency in New York. If you went to work in Germany, you would be entitled to home leave. When requesting to use home leave, your supervisor may request documentation to support residency status.

Example: Using the same scenario above, if you instead went to work in Puerto Rico, you would be entitled to home leave because of having established residency in New York. When requesting to use home leave, your supervisor may request documentation to support residency status.

Residency determinations must include consideration of these factors as well as any other supportive documentation:

Circumstances surrounding the hiring of the employee,
The employee's work history,
The chronological record of individual or family associations with the claimed place of residence,
Official Personnel Folder forms (e.g., TSP form, FEGLI form, FEBHA form, Designation of Beneficiary), 
SF-171, Application for Employment, showing place of residence,
Place of birth,
Place of education,
Voter registration,
State to which income and/or personal property taxes are paid,
Place where children, if any, were born, raised, and educated,
Family ties, and/or,
Any other written documentation establishing declared place of residence.

The above list is not all inclusive. It is used to illustrate the areas supervisors may consider when evaluating a request making residency determinations upon initial recruitment or transfer. Ultimately, supervisors must ensure that their determination is consistent and not arbitrary, capricious, or contrary to law. 

Management is responsible for determining your actual residence after obtaining guidance from the servicing human resources office, using the above chart and reviewing any documentation that you provide. Home leave determinations are made on a case-by-case basis based on all available information. Home leave eligibility is determined when recruited or transferred into a position that is both abroad and eligible to earn 45 days of annual leave. 

You, as an employee, are responsible for providing information establishing place of residence when hired (recruited) or transferred into a position that is eligible to earn home leave. to support the requested home leave. Falsification of this information may lead to disciplinary action up to, and including, removal from Federal service.

An employee is indebted for home leave used and must make a refund to the Government when he/she fails to return to service abroad after a period of leave or after completion of an assignment in the United States. The amount of refund to the Government shall be equal to the travel expenses.

The authorizing agency official will provide documentation to the appropriate office indicated below. That office will request the National Finance Center to bill the employee for the amount of travel indebtedness.

A refund for home leave may be waived if:

• An employee has completed 6 months of service in an assignment in the U.S. following a period of leave; and
• The appropriate official determines that the employee's failure to return to duty is due to compelling personal reasons (such as physical or mental health), circumstances over which the employee has no control, or it is in the public interest not to return the employee abroad.

The approving official will provide a copy of the documentation granting the waiver to the SPO.

Accumulated home leave will be transferred or recredited when an employee:

• Moves between agencies, or
• Is reemployed in the Federal service without a break in service of more than 90 days.