Voluntary Leave Transfer Program
The Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (VLTP) allows FSIS employees to donate annual leave for use by other FSIS employees who need it because of personal or family-related medical emergencies. A request to become a leave recipient is not a request to be absent on leave. The applicant must obtain approval for the time off from work for a medical emergency, according to the standard procedures for requesting leave. To be eligible for assistance from the VLTP, a current FSIS employee must be experiencing a personal or family-related medical emergency that results in serious financial hardship for the employee because they have insufficient accrued leave to use for at least 24 hours of the expected duration of the absence.
- Experience a qualifying personal or family-related medical emergency that is expected to result in “serious financial hardship” and
- Exhaust (or expect to exhaust) all accrued annual and sick leave and be (or expect to be) in a non-pay (or advanced leave) status for a minimum of 24 hours.
To apply for donated leave, complete and submit the following forms and supporting documents through your supervisor or district office to premiumpayandleave@usda.gov:
- Form AD-1046, Leave Transfer Program - Recipient Application, along with the following:
- A brief statement describing your medical emergency, including the nature and severity of the emergency, and the expected duration.
- A copy of the medical certificate or doctor’s statement on letterhead and signed by the physician which describes the personal or family-related medical condition, the length of time you will likely be affected by the condition, and the anticipated return to work date.
- Medical documentation can also be provided on one of the following forms:
Upon receipt of a complete and accurate recipient form and medical documentation, the processing timeline is typically within 10 business days.
- Employees can donate accrued or restored annual leave by either:
- Using the timekeeping system, or
- Emailing Form AD-1043, Leave Transfer Program – Donor Application directly to the Financial Services Center at FSCGeneral@usda.gov.
- A complete list of current recipients can be found at Personnel – Home (sharepoint.com).
In any leave year, a leave donor may not donate more than a total of one-half of the amount of annual leave they would accrue during the leave year in which the donation is made:
- Full-time employee maximum:
- 52 hours if in the 4-hour leave category;
- 80 hours if in the 6-hour leave category;
- 104 hours if in the 8-hour leave category.
- Part-time employee maximum (determine using the following formula):
13 x Duty Hours in Pay Period x Leave Earning Category
______________________________________________
80
Example Part Time Limitation:
13 x 64 hours x 8-hour category = 6656/80 = 83.2 rounded to 83 hours
- In the case of a leave donor who is projected to have use or lose annual leave at the end of the year, the maximum amount of annual leave that may be donated during the leave year shall be the lesser of:
- One-half of the amount of annual leave they would be entitled to accrue during the leave year in which the donation is made; or
- The number of hours remaining in the leave year (as of the date of the donation) for which the leave donor is scheduled to work and receive pay.
NOTE: Only annual leave may be donated under the leave share programs. Federal regulations prohibit donating sick leave.
