voluntary leave federal aviation administration transfer … articles/2017 vltp pdf... ·...

Federal AviationAdministrationVoluntary Leave

Transfer Program

(VLTP)

Presented By: Anna Green,

Program Manager for

VLTP/ELTP:

Telework #: 703 441 3503

Office #: 202 267 3873

[email protected]

Federal AviationAdministration

Voluntary Leave Transfer Program

(VLTP)• Today’s Agenda

– Background and History of the VLTP

– Who is Eligible to Apply for the VLTP and Eligibility

Requirements

– VLTP Registration Process and Guidelines

– Issues Surrounding VLTP Use of Donated Leave

– Leave Donation Guidelines and Process

– Other Related VLTP Issues

2


3

Reminder - Union Agreement

• The information, instructions, and

guidelines in this briefing are based on

FAA policy

• However, they can be supplemented or

superseded by an union agreement

– Therefore, review applicable union contracts,

MOU’s, and MOA’s pertaining to these topics

for bargaining-unit employees

– Consult your Labor and Employee Relations

Specialist (LER) if you have questions



(VLTP)

Background and

History of the VLTP

4


Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (VLTP)• VLTP created by Congress in 1988

• FAA followed Title 5 Leave Policies until 1996, including

for the VLTP

– Exempted from Title 5 Leave Policies in April 1996

through Personnel Reform

• FAA modified VLTP rules in December 1999 to allow for

donation of sick leave

– Title 5 federal agencies only allow the donation and

receipt of annual leave; only the FAA allows for donation

& receipt of sick leave hours

• Latest VLTP policy issued in Sept 2010, with a few

changes, e.g., limited maximum donation of sick leave to

be 104 hours, limited time in the program to 1 year, etc.

5



(VLTP) – cont’d• The VLTP was established to help ease the

financial burden for employees who have a

personal medical emergency or need to care for a

family member with a medical emergency

• It was never intended to be a permanent status,

but a stop-gap measure until an employee can

return to work within a reasonable period of time,

or is approved for disability retirement

– The VLTP is is not intended to be a substitute for

disability retirement

6



(VLTP) – cont’d• If the employee’s medical

certification indicates that

he/she will not recover within a

year, get with your LER

specialist and the Benefits

Operations Center (BOC) to

advise the employee of the

option of applying for disability

retirement if eligible

7



(VLTP) – cont’d

Who is Eligible to Apply for the

VLTP and Eligibility

Requirements

8



(VLTP) – cont’d• Permanent and temporary FAA employees can register in

the VLTP, whether on a full-time or part-time work schedule

• Please note that the hour totals noted in this presentation

are for full-time employees

– However, if you have part-time employees, such hours are prorated

• See HRPM LWS-8.12 for specific calculation in the unlikely

event you have a part-time employee who is enrolled in the

VLTP

– e.g., If part-time, the employee must have at least 30% of

the number of hours he/she works in a pay period to be in

a LWOP status in order to be eligible for the VLTP, versus

24 hours of LWOP for a full-time employee

9


Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (VLTP) – cont’d

• In order to register in the VLTP, an employee

must be experiencing a medical emergency

that causes him/her to suffer a substantial

loss of income from his/her FAA employment

– What is considered a substantial loss of income

due to a medical emergency?

– IAW HRPM LWS-8.12, it is a medical emergency

that is, has, OR will cause a full-time employee to

be without pay for at least 24 consecutive hours

10



(VLTP) – cont’d• In other words, the

medical emergency

must or will require the

employee to exhaust the

use of all of his/her

available paid leave and

still be absent for 24

consecutive work hours

or more on LWOP

11



(VLTP) – cont’d• What does available paid leave mean within the FAA?

– Means any annual or sick leave, as well as any comp time,

credit hours, or any other available paid leave if in the VLTP

for himself/herself

• However, if in the VLTP to care for a family member, it means any

annual leave, comp time, credit hours, or any other available paid

leave, and he/she has or will use the maximum amount of sick

leave available for family purposes

– For example, if an employee had 1000 hours of sick leave, he/she

would have to use 480 hours of that total to be in the VLTP, but not

the total 1000 if applying for the VLTP for a family member

– However, available paid leave does not include any advanced

annual or sick leave for both self and family purposes

12



(VLTP) – cont’d

• Medical emergency must be

supported by submission of

medical certification to

support the VLTP application

– A medical emergency does not

include elective cosmetic surgery,

routine tests, or the care of a

healthy newborn

13



• However, each case has to be decided on

its own merit– If a cosmetic surgery is being done for medical reasons,

then the employee might be eligible to register in the

VLTP

• e.g., normally a person having a rhinoplasty would

not be eligible for the VLTP, however, if it was being

done due to a deviated septum/breathing issues,

then the employee might be eligible if the surgery

was not solely for aesthetic reasons

– While an employee can’t register in the VLTP to care for

a healthy child, if the child has a serious health

condition, then the employee could register

14



(VLTP) – cont’d

VLTP Registration Process and

Guidelines

15



• Employees must register within 30 calendar days of

the beginning of the medical emergency OR from the

date the employee is without available paid leave for

24 consecutive work hours or more

– Note that if granted retroactive approval into the VLTP,

no later than 30 days after return to work

• Such retroactive registration may be considered when the

employee or the employee’s representative presents medical

evidence from a health care provider showing that the employee

was medically unable to submit a leave recipient application

during the entire period of the medical emergency and was

qualified to be a leave recipient - see HRPM LWS-8.12,

paragraph 13

16



(VLTP) – cont’d

• Technically, employees are suppose to

submit leave request for the period of

absence due to the medical emergency

• They must also provide a medical

certificate within 15 calendar days of

the manager's request for such info,

unless it is not practical, but no later

than 30 days after the original request

17



(VLTP) – cont’d

• Why do we need a medical

certificate?

– Validate there is a medical emergency

• e.g., that it’s not elective cosmetic surgery,

it’s not bonding with a healthy child, etc.

– To determine how many hours of

donated leave the employee might

need

18


Voluntary Leave Transfer Program VLTP) – cont’d

• The medical certificate must include evidence from an

appropriate health care provider of

– Employee’s incapacity for duty due to physical or

mental illness or injury

• Or if for the care of a family member, the family member’s

incapacity for work or school

– The date of incapacity, and

– The anticipated ending date of the medical emergency

and return to duty or school, as applicable, so that we

can calculate/validate how many donated hours the

employee might need

19


Voluntary Leave Transfer Program VLTP) – cont’d

• A Family Member means an individual with any of

the following relationships to the employee

– (1) Spouse, and parents thereof;

– (2) Sons and daughters, and spouses thereof;

– (3) Parents, and spouses thereof;

– (4) Brothers and sisters, and spouses thereof;

– (5) Grandparents and grandchildren, and spouses thereof;

– (6) Domestic partner and parents thereof, including domestic

partners of any individual in numbers (2) through (5) of this

definition; and

– (7) Any individual related by blood or affinity whose close

association with the employee is the equivalent of a family

relationship as noted above

20



• Applications for the VLTP should be

accomplished online via the OVLTP system

• However, on occasions, employees may submit

paper copies to be completed by the VLTP

coordinator

– FAA form 3600-24 for Leave Recipient Application

• Employee’s manager is suppose to

approve/disapprove VLTP application within 14

calendar days

21



(VLTP) – cont’d

Office of Workers’ Compensation Program (OWCP)

- An employee who has applied to OWCP but

has not yet been approved is eligible to

become a leave recipient in the VLTP if he/she

meets the program conditions

- However, if accepted as a leave recipient, the

employee may not use donated leave for the

same period of time OWCP is reimbursing the

employee

22



• Wounded Veteran

– A wounded veteran who sustains a combat-related

disability while serving as a member of the Armed

Forces and who is undergoing medical treatment for

that disability is eligible to participate in the VLTP

program without first having to exhaust his or her own

leave

– A wounded veteran who is accepted as a leave

recipient may receive donated annual and/or sick leave

for up to 5 years from the start of the treatment

23



(VLTP) – cont’d

• VLTP Registrants will see

donated leave on their LES,

or they may contact the VLTP

Coordinator and/or Payroll

for such info, or the

Coordinator can view their

donation amounts on the

OVLTP website

24



• Duration of Registration– Limited to one year (except for wounded vets as noted on

slide 23 or if 1 year extension granted as noted on slide 58 )

per medical emergency from the effective date of the leave

recipient’s enrollment in the VLTP (not the time that the

medical emergency began, because they may be two

different dates)

– However, if a different emergency occurs, the employee must

reapply to the VLTP for the second emergency

• Once either medical emergency is resolved, the front-line

manager terminates the employee’s participation from the VLTP

under that medical emergency and any unused donated leave

from the resolved emergency will be returned to the donors

25



(VLTP) – cont’d

Issues Surrounding VLTP

Registrant’s Use of Donated Leave

26



(VLTP) – cont’d

• Donor’s use of leave

– Again, remind registrants that they

have to used all of their available

accumulated and accrued leave

(e.g., annual, sick, comp, etc.)

before they can access donated

leave

27



• Donor’s Use of Sick Leave for Family Care– If a full-time employee is in the VLTP to provide care for a family member (not his/herself), that

employee can’t use more than more than 480 hours of sick leave within a leave year to care for a

family member with a serious health condition, regardless of whether or not the sick leave is

accrued OR donated • Please note that this 480 limit starts anew at the beginning of each new leave year

– Please note that there is no current edit for this, so as the VLTP Coordinator you have to track

this; once employee reaches this limit, you can go into OVLTP and change the Type of Leave

under the Approved Recipients’ Section, to reflect that the employee may only receive donated

annual leave

• Recommend asking your CASTLE POC to provide you with the amount of sick leave the employee has used for

family purposes that leave year (e.g., for family illness/medical appts and family bereavement), and add that to the

amount of donated sick leave the person has received and used that leave year to make such determinations

– Please note that this limitation applies only to sick leave (donated or accrued), and has no

effect on an employee’s ability to receive/use donated annual leave for family purposes;

again, doesn’t apply if in the VLTP for his/her own illness

28



(VLTP) – cont’d• Donated leave may not be used in the

following situations: • For a different medical emergency

• To donate it to another leave recipient

• For a lump-sum payment

• For a vacation or other personal reason

• To extend employment if termination is otherwise required, such

as an expiration of appointment or a removal decision

• To recredit unused donated leave after the leave recipient

terminates from the federal government and returns to

employment

29



(VLTP) – cont’d

Leave Donation Guidelines and

Process

30



• Annual Leave Donation Limitations

– An employee may donate no more than one-half of the amount of annual

leave he/she would accrue during the leave year

• e.g. an employee who earns 4 hours of annual leave a pay period, could only

donate a maximum of 52 hours, but a person earning 8 hours of annual a pay

period could donate a maximum of 104 hours of annual leave

– A leave donor with projected use or lose annual leave may only donate

the lesser of:

• One-half of expected accrued leave for the leave year; or

• The number of hours remaining in the leave year as of the date the donor

applies, for which the leave donor is scheduled to work and receive pay

– Also, can’t donate to managers in their chain of command

• However, there is no current system edit for any of this, so the VLTP coordinators

have to monitor

31


Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (VLTP) – cont’d• Sick Leave Donation Limits

– An employee may donate no more than the amount of sick

leave he/she would accrue during the leave year

• e.g., for a full-time employee who was working the entire leave

year, he/she could donate a maximum of 104 hours of sick leave

– If the employee is separating, the employee may donate the

lesser of the amount of sick leave accrued in a leave year (e.g.,

104 hours for a full-time employee) or the number of hours

remaining as of the date the donor applies for which the

employee is scheduled to work and receive pay up to the

separation date

– Also, can’t donate to managers in their chain of command

– However, again, there is no current system edit for any of this,

so the VLTP coordinators have to monitor

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• So, recommend sending out a reminder to your workforce about

these limitations, so they don’t try to transfer a large amount of leave

at the end of the leave year or the end of their career, and we can’t

accept such donations due to these limitations!

– For example, while a full-time employee with use/lose could

donate 104 hours of annual leave in June (if he/she earns 8

hours a pay period of annual leave), he/she cannot donate 104

hours of annual leave if there are only 3 days left in the leave

year, as he/she could only donate 24 hours in this example

– Another example, a person could donate 104 hours of sick leave

in October, even if he/she was going to retire on January 1st.

However, if he/she waited until one day before he/she retired,

he/she could only donate one day of sick leave in this example

33



Possible waiver of previously noted donation limits:

Front-line manager may waive the limits on the amount

of donated annual and or sick leave if the donation is to

a family member, or an extreme hardship situation –

see HRPM LWS-8.12, paragraphs 15 and 9

– However, please note that a waiver is not permitted for • Donating leave that the employee would not otherwise be able to use

• Donating to a manager within the employee’s chain of command

cannot be waived

• Can’t result in the employee using more than 480 hours of sick leave

in a leave year to care for a family member, whether donated or

accrued sick leave (see slide 28)

– NOTE: Use FAA Form 3600-25 to document such a

waiver, and provide a copy to Payroll VLTP POC

34



• Such leave donations should be submitted

online through the OVTLP system

– If the employee can’t, a paper FAA Form 3600-25

may be submitted, and the VLTP Coordinator can

input into OVLTP

• Manager has 14 calendar days to approve

– You may have to send a reminder to the manager

through the OVTLP if he/she doesn’t do so

35



(VLTP) – cont’d• FAA employees may donate annual (not

sick) leave to non-FAA Federal

government leave recipients by

submitting a completed OPM Form 630-B

• A copy of the approved form is forwarded

to the servicing payroll liaison staff

person for processing

• This donation is manually processed and

can not be processed via the online VLTP

36



(VLTP) – cont’d

• Any unused donated

leave that exists when the

employee is terminated

from the VLTP, is

restored to the leave

donors when there are

more hours than donors

37



• Please note that the names of donors and the amounts

donated must not be revealed, including to the leave

recipient, by other than the employee donating the leave

– However, the VLTP employee can prepare a thank you

message and provide it to the VLTP Coordinator who can

then forward it to the donors (send separate email to each

donor, or bcc if sending one email to multiple donors)

• Thus, this still maintains the donor's anonymity while the employee

still thanks his/her donors

38



(VLTP) – cont’d

Other Related VLTP Issues

39



(VLTP) – cont’d• Advance Leave & Impact on VLTP

– Advance leave is not considered available paid

leave, so any such advanced leave does not

affect the requirement to have or project to have

24 hours of LWOP to be eligible

– Donated leave can be applied retroactively to

replace any leave that was advanced for the

VLTP medical emergency

• Please note that a corrected T&A is necessary to

apply such leave retroactively

40



• Relationship of VLTP to FMLA and vice versa

– FMLA is basically a job protection act, while the VLTP is an

economic hardship program

– FMLA provides for 12 weeks of LWOP (or substituted paid

leave) for an employee’s own or his/her family’s serious

health condition, or for the birth and care of a child or

adoption of child, or for military exigency or military caregiver

purposes

– Basic issue/concern in relation to the VLTP is that FMLA

entitles an eligible employee to 12 weeks of LWOP to care

and bond with a healthy child, but in order to be in the VLTP,

either the child or mother must be experiencing a serious

health condition

41



• VLTP and Bereavement

– First, employee must already be in the VLTP to used donated

leave for bereavement

• In other words, can’t initially register after a family member’s death,

because there’s no longer a medical emergency

– However, second, if the employee is already in the VLTP and a

qualifying family member’s medical emergency results in death, the

leave recipient may continue using the donated leave for bereavement

purposes, for example, to arrange for and attend the funeral

• However, the total amount of leave that can be used for bereavement

purposes (whether accrued or donated leave, separate or total) cannot

exceed 104 hours during each leave year

– You can get a report from your CASTLE POC to see if any such bereavement leave

has been used by that employee during that leave year for other family memebers,

in order to make such a determination

42



• Termination of VLTP registration (cont’d)

• Upon conclusion of one year (365 calendar days) following the employee’s

effective date into the VLTP per medical emergency, unless an extension has

been granted by the employee’s Head of LBO

– For an extension to be granted beyond one year, a determination must

be made that the efficiency of the service is met by retaining the

employee in the program for the extended period of time and does not

conflict with a need to fill the position full time

– This exception is documented via memo and must have a not-to-exceed

date of no more than one additional year or not to exceed the use of

1250 donated hours, whichever is greater

» Copies of the approval are maintained with the employee’s manager

and the VLTP coordinator

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Questions

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