Judicial Leave Sharing Advances

The House has joined the Senate in passing legislation (S-1736) to allow judicial branch employees to participate in any emergency leave transfer programs for disasters and emergencies, sending the bill to President Bush. Under current law, judicial branch employees are allowed to donate annual leave through a leave bank to co-workers who have exhausted their annual and sick leave as a result of a personal or family medical emergency. However, they are not eligible to participate in programs allowing employees to donate annual leave to employees of their own agency or other agencies in the event of a major disaster or emergency, as can executive branch employees. In response to Hurricane Katrina, the Judicial Conference of the United States requested authority to provide the judicial branch with the same flexibility and authority available to the executive branch.