Fedweek

A newly offered bill (HR-5957) seeks to expand the upcoming “disabled veteran leave” authority to include FAA employees not covered by the law. Under the authority, veterans newly hired on or after November 5 of this year—and those returning after breaks in service under certain conditions–with a disability rating of 30 percent or more, will be eligible for up to 104 hours of leave in the first 12 months of employment without charge to other forms of leave, to be used for medical treatment related to that disability and for which sick leave could otherwise be used. However, sponsors of the bill say that by including only employees under Title 5 U.S. Code—the body of law that generally governs federal employment—FAA employees were left out since separate law governs them. Enactment of the change could lead to a move to broaden the authority to other employees not covered by Title 5.