5 U.S.C. § 6304 — Annual leave; accumulation

(a) Unless subsections (b), (d), (e), (f), or (g) provides otherwise, unused annual leave under section 6303 carries into later years until it totals no more than 30 days at the start of the first complete two-week pay period, or corresponding period, occurring in a year.

(b) Unused leave of a United States Government employee^* in one of these classes, stationed outside the United States, carries over up to 45 days: (1) a person directly recruited or transferred by the United States Government from the United States or its territories or possessions, including Puerto Rico, to work outside the recruitment or transfer area; (2) a locally employed person who (A)(i) was originally recruited from those places but outside the employment area, (ii) had substantially continuous employment with United States agencies, firms, interests, organizations, participating international organizations, or foreign governments, and (iii) has employment terms providing return transportation to those places; or (B)(i) was temporarily absent at hiring for travel or formal study from the United States or a residence in those places, and (ii) kept a residence there outside the employment area during that absence; or (3) a person not normally living in the area who was discharged from the armed forces to accept a United States Government job.

(c) Leave above the limit in subsection (a) or (b) that was accumulated under an earlier law, or above subsection (a)’s limit when accumulated under subsection (b) by an employee who becomes subject to subsection (a), remains credited until used. At the start of the first complete two-week pay period in a year, the excess is reduced by the amount used in the preceding year above the amount earned that year, until the balance is within the applicable limit.

(d)(1) Leave lost because of (A) an administrative error causing loss of leave otherwise earned after June 30, 1960, (B) the needs of public business when the leave was scheduled in advance, or (C) employee illness when the leave was scheduled in advance must be restored. (2) Restored leave above the legal maximum, including leave restored under section 5562(a)(2), goes into a separate account and is usable within Office of Personnel Management regulatory time limits. Unused leave still available under those rules is included in the lump-sum payment under section 5551 or 5552(1), but cannot remain credited under section 5552(2). (3)(A) For this subsection, a Defense Department installation closure or realignment under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, a Panama installation closure under the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977, and any other Defense installation closure from October 1, 1992, through December 31, 1997, is a public-business exigency. Leave lost by an employee at such an installation is restored whether scheduled or not and is handled under paragraph (2). (B) “Realignment” means a base realignment as defined in title 10, section 2687(e)(3), meeting section 2687(a)(2)’s requirements. (4)(A) Service by a Defense Department emergency-essential employee in a combat zone is a public-business exigency. Leave lost because of that service is restored whether scheduled or not and handled under paragraph (2). (B) “Department of Defense emergency essential employee” means a Defense employee designated under title 10, section 1580. “Combat zone” has the meaning in Internal Revenue Code section 112(c)(2).

(e) Leave otherwise earned after June 30, 1960, lost because of administrative error, not credited under subsection (d)(2) because the employee left before discovery, may be credited and paid in a lump sum only if a claim is filed within 3 years after discovery. The employing agency pays when section 5551’s lump-sum rules last applied to the employee, using the basic pay rate on that date.

(f)(1) This subsection covers leave earned while serving in the Senior Executive Service, Senior Foreign Service, Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service, Senior Cryptologic Executive Service, FBI and DEA Senior Executive Service, a section 5376 position, a title 10 section 1607(a) Intelligence Senior Level position, a Library of Congress position paid at Executive Schedule level III, or a Secret Service Uniformed Division Deputy Chief, Assistant Chief, or Chief position. (2) For leave covered by paragraph (1), “30 days” in subsection (a) means “90 days,” and “45 days” in subsection (b) means “90 days.”