Military families to see additional leave benefits

Expanded leave benefits for federal employees who have an immediate family member serving on active duty overseas will take hold next month, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

In a final rule to be published in Friday's Federal Register, OPM is extending up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to government workers whose spouse, child or parent is on or has been called to active duty abroad for qualifying exigencies -- situations that require extra care related to a service member's deployment. As mandated by the 2010 Defense authorization law, the regulation updates the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, which grants federal employees leave to address family events and challenges, such as the birth of a child or spousal illness.

Under the new rule, eligible employees can take leave for military events and official ceremonies; child care needs, such as transferring to a new school or day care or attending related events; making financial and legal arrangements; counseling; and post-deployment activities, such as arrival ceremonies and reintegration briefings. The regulation also grants up to a week of leave when military personnel are given seven days or less deployment notice and five days to spend time with a service member who is on short-term rest and recuperation leave during deployment. Federal workers also can coordinate with supervisors to arrange leave in other circumstances.

According to OPM, the rule will help employees manage family needs when a spouse, child or parent is on active duty overseas.

"It's another tool in your toolkit should you need to access it," said Kelly Hruska, government relations deputy director at the National Military Family Association. "Especially as the federal government is making more inroads in hiring veterans and military spouses, being able to afford the opportunity to access this leave should a servicemember be called overseas is particularly helpful."

To use unpaid leave, employees must notify supervisors as soon as possible, and might be asked to provide documentation, such as duty orders and information about why leave has been requested, the rule states.

Prior to the 2010 authorization, qualifying exigency leave did not apply to employees with family members serving in a regular component of the Armed Forces -- only to those in the National Guard or Reserves - and federal workers have not had access to the benefit at all, according to Hruska. OPM's rule is similar to Labor Department guidelines for private sector employees. The regulation will take effect 30 days after publication.