The federal leave options employees can use when annual and sick time run out

Between Jan. 20 and Nov. 30, 2025, personnel action records show 322,049 federal workers separated from their federal careers through resignation, retirement, expired appointments and reductions in force, based on OPM Workforce Data. The Deferred Resignation Program accounted for 154,000 of those separations, allowing employees to remain on paid administrative leave through the end of the fiscal year, or up to Dec. 31, 2025, if retirement eligible. Even with those departures, the federal government remained the nation’s largest single employer, with 2,084,618 civilian federal workers on the rolls as of Nov. 30, 2025.

The idea of paid administrative leave as an incentive for employees to resign or retire from their federal careers was a new concept in 2025. There are other types of leave available to federal workers who need time off but plan to return to their jobs. These different leave categories include annual leave and sick leave, which most employees are familiar with, but there are other types of leave available in certain circumstances. These leave categories include:

Leave without pay (LWOP)
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. There is entitlement to LWOP when using leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, while performing active-duty military service, while receiving benefits through the Office of Workers’ Compensation and when a disabled veteran is in need of medical treatment.

Beware that extended periods of LWOP may affect other benefits such as insurance, leave accrual and service credit for retirement.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Covered federal employees are entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid FMLA leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following purposes:

• Birth of a son or daughter and care of the newborn, used no later than 12 months after the birth.

• Placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care.

• Care of an employee’s spouse, son, daughter or parent with a serious health condition.

• Serious health condition of the employee that makes the employee unable to perform one or more of the essential functions of the employee’s position.

• A qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter or parent is a covered military member on covered active duty in the armed forces.

Paid parental leave (PPL)
Paid parental leave is authorized under the Family and Medical Leave Act statute and is substituted for available unpaid FMLA leave for the birth of an employee’s son or daughter and care of the newborn following childbirth. Therefore, for an employee to use PPL, the employee must be eligible for FMLA. PPL may be used only during the 12-month period following the birth of an employee’s son or daughter and only during periods when the employee is acting in a parental role with respect to the newborn.

Military leave
The law provides 20 days per fiscal year for active duty, active-duty training, inactive duty training or other eligible training. In 2025, the law was changed, increasing the number of days of military leave accrual and the maximum carryover amount from 15 to 20. An employee can carry over a maximum of 20 days for use in the next fiscal year.

Leave for disabled veterans
Disabled veterans new to federal service can be granted up to 104 hours of paid leave in the first year of employment under the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2015, Public Law 114-75, enacted Nov. 5, 2015.

Emergency paid leave voluntary leave transfer program
In the event of a major disaster or emergency as declared by the president that results in severe adverse effects for a substantial number of employees, the president may direct the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to establish an emergency leave transfer program.

Time off for safe leave purposes
Federal employees have access to leave to seek safety and recover from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking, including when such conduct is facilitated by technology. Paid and unpaid options are available for victims of domestic violence.

Blood, organ and bone marrow donation
An employee may use up to seven days of paid leave each calendar year to serve as a bone marrow donor. An employee also may use up to 30 days of paid leave each calendar year to serve as an organ donor.

Court leave
An employee is entitled to paid time off without charge to leave for service as a juror or witness.