There still has been no indication from the White House regarding whether President Trump will grant federal employees additional paid time off at the holidays—which, if to be allowed, usually is announced around this time of December.
However, chances appear poor this year because Christmas Day falls on a Monday and the holiday is observed on that same day. The last two times that happened, Presidents Clinton and Bush, respectively, did not grant any additional time off either on the Friday preceding or the Tuesday following. Nor did President Obama grant time off last year when the holiday was also observed on a Monday (Christmas Day was the previous day).
While past practices do have precedential value, Presidents have full discretion whether to grant additional time off. Even without Presidential permission, individual offices may do so informally, however, in many cases with a don’t ask/don’t tell type of understanding with higher management.
Meanwhile, employees with “use or lose” leave should note that the current leave year in most cases ends January 6. For most employees, the maximum carry-over is 240 hours (30 days) but in many cases it may already be too late to schedule any excess. With only limited exceptions, forfeited leave cannot be restored. Employees who face forfeiting leave can instead donate it to a leave bank or leave sharing program.
