By fiscal 2026 employees could potentially have as many as 40 days of section 6323(a) military leave during a fiscal year. Image: Bandersnatch/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffFollowing is the key section of OPM guidance on newly created or expanded policies regarding military leave for federal employees who serve on active military duty that were created by the fiscal 2025 Defense Department authorization law. (Note: The guidance also addresses the extensions in that law of several long-running special pay authorities for employees working in combat zones and, at an agency’s discretion, certain other areas overseas).
Sections 1109 – Increase in Military Leave Accrual and Accumulation for Federal Employees
Section 1109 increases military leave accrual and maximum carryover amounts under 5 U.S.C. 6323(a)(1) from 15 to 20 days to be used for active duty, active duty training, and inactive duty training. This amendment to section 6323(a) took effect on the date of enactment of the FY25 NDAA, December 23, 2024, which was during the course of FY 2025 (October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025).
Since section 1109 took effect during the course of the fiscal year, OPM considers the increased accrual of 20 days of military leave to be effective on December 23, 2024. Before December 23, 2024, employees were limited to an accrual of 15 days of military leave in FY 2025, but once the amendments took effect on December 23, 2024, the fiscal year accrual was increased, and an additional 5 days of military leave became available for use during FY 2025. The maximum carryover amount of military leave into the next fiscal year under 5 U.S.C. 6323(a)(1) also increased from 15 to 20 days on December 23, 2024. Section 6323(a) military leave that is carried over into the next fiscal year will be forfeited if not used in that succeeding fiscal year.
This means the following:
• On October 1, 2024, prior to the enactment of section 1109, employees accrued 15 days of section 6323(a) military leave and were entitled to carry over up to 15 days of unused military leave for use in the next fiscal year.
• As of December 23, 2024, pursuant to section 1109, employees are entitled to accrue 20 days of section 6323(a) military leave per fiscal year. Since employees already accrued 15 days of section 6323(a) military leave at the beginning of FY 2025, they became entitled to special accrual of an additional 5 days of section 6323(a) military leave as of December 23, 2024, that is available for use during the portion of FY 2025 after that date. If an employee used another type of paid or unpaid leave during duty that qualified under section 6323(a) on or after December 23, 2024, but before the employing agency informed its employees of the additional 5 days of military leave for FY 2025, OPM believes it would be appropriate for an agency to approve an employee’s request to retroactively substitute up to 5 days of available section 6323(a) military leave for such paid or unpaid leave.
• For FY 2025 (October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025) employees can potentially have as many as 35 days of section 6323(a) military leave due to the 15 days that were previously authorized to be carried over from the previous FY 2024 in addition to the new authority for accrual and accumulation of 20 days of military leave for FY 2025.
• For FY 2026 (October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026), and subsequent fiscal years, employees accrue 20 days of section 6323(a) military leave and may carry over up to 20 days of unused military leave for use in the next fiscal year; thus, they could potentially have as many as 40 days of section 6323(a) military leave during a fiscal year.
Section 1114 – Extension of Military Leave to Members of the Space Force in an Active Status
Section 1114 provides members of the Space Force in space force active status (as defined in 10 U.S.C. 101(e)(1), i.e., “a member of the Space Force who is not in a space force inactive status and is not retired”) are eligible for military leave under 5 U.S.C. 6323(a)(1) and (b)(1). Members of the Space Force on sustained duty under 10 U.S.C. 20105 are not eligible for military leave. These amendments to section 6323(a) and (b) took effect on the date of enactment of the FY25 NDAA, December 23, 2024, which was during the course of FY 2025 (October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025).
Section 7215 – Rest and Recuperation and Overseas Operations Leave
Section 7215 grants executive branch agencies the discretionary authority to provide qualifying employees with two new forms of leave via amendments to chapter 9 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4081 et seq.). Section 903a of the Act permits agencies to provide up to 20 days of paid leave per leave year for the purposes of rest and recuperation to qualifying employees who are serving in a combat zone, any other high risk, high threat post, or any other location presenting significant security or operational challenges. “High risk, high threat posts” are those described in 22 U.S.C. 4803.
Section 903b of the Act permits agencies to provide qualifying employees serving abroad with up to 10 days of paid leave per leave year for the purpose of local holidays.
Use of either the section 903a authority or the section 903b authority is at the sole and exclusive discretion of the head of the employing agency.
For the purpose of sections 903a and 903b, the definition of the term “employee” relies on three conditions parallel to those found in the commonly used definition of “employee” in 5 U.S.C. 2105(a). To be considered an employee, an individual must be—
• appointed in the civil service, in the Foreign Service, or using any appointment authority other than the uniformed services (as that term is defined in 37 U.S.C. 101) by the President, a member of Congress, the head of a Government controlled corporation, or other individual who qualifies as an employee under this definition;
• engaged in the performance of a Federal function under authority of law or an Executive act; and
• subject to the supervision of an individual described in the first bulleted paragraph while engaged in the performance of the duties of his or her position.
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See also,
Legal: How to Challenge a Federal Reduction in Force (RIF) in 2025
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