As a NASA civil service employee, you may have a choice of work schedules; you may receive various types of leave; and you may receive up to ten Federal holidays. This section provides a brief introduction to your leave, holidays, and work schedule options. For a detailed description, you may refer to the NEBS website.

Depending on your position, your duties, special requirements of your organization, and your personal preferences, you may have a choice of several types of work schedules. NASA encourages supervisors to give employees flexibility in choosing work schedules; however, if a business or performance reason exists, your supervisor may limit your flexibility in choosing a work schedule.

Variable Day Schedule

A common work schedule for many employees is the variable day schedule (VDS). This schedule offers you a variable work schedule that may help you to balance the requirements of your job with the demands of your personal life. The variable day schedule gives you more freedom to vary your daily work hours and, if you wish, to earn extra hours (credit hours) which you may later use instead of your leave.

• To be eligible, you must be on a permanent or term appointment and on either a full-time or part-time work tour. COOPs are also included.
• Under VDS, you're required to be present for duty during "core" hours. Core hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding the midday lunch break.
• You must work 40 hours per week, but not necessarily 8 hours per day.
• If you are required to work more than forty hours in a week you may earn "credit hours" which you may use at a later date instead of other types of leave. You may carryover up to 24 credit hours. Credit hour balances are shown on your leave and earnings statement.
• You normally have the option to vary the length of your work day on a daily basis.
• You have the choice of arriving at work between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and leaving between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Arrival before 6:00 a.m. or departure after 6:00 p.m. requires supervisory approval.
• You may extend your lunch period, in 30-minute increments, to a maximum of 2 hours with supervisory approval.

  Depending on your position, your duties, or other organization requirements, your management may limit the amount of your flexibility in your schedule or exclude you from the VDS program.

Regular Work Schedules

A regular work schedule includes 40 hours per week worked between a standard daily start time and end time with a set lunch period between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Typical regular work schedules include:

Irregular Work Schedule

Commonly referred to as a "first 40" work schedule, an irregular work tour allows you to work 40 hours at irregular times of the work week without the constraints of "core hours". You may not earn credit hours on this type of tour. Usually this type of work tour is approved for employees whose duties require them to be present at "irregular "times.

Sick leave is for your absences due to illness, visits to a doctor, or for other health related reasons. In some instances you may use sick leave to care for family members who are ill.

Earning Sick Leave

All permanent and temporary employees earn sick leave. If you work full-time, you earn 4 hours of sick leave for each pay period. If you work part-time, you earn 1 hour of sick leave for each 20 hours you are in a pay status.

Your current balance of sick leave is shown on your biweekly leave and earnings statement.

Sick Leave and Short Term Disability

You may accumulate your sick leave indefinitely. In fact, it is not unusual for NASA employees to accrue several months of sick leave and some have well over a year of sick leave to their credit. For this reason this benefit is especially valuable for your short-term disability coverage. If you become disabled, you may take your accrued and advanced sick leave, accrued and advanced annual leave, unused credit hours and compensatory time off, plus any donated annual leave -- and continue to receive your full pay, benefits, and service credit.

Your Sick Leave if You Leave Federal Service

If a you are a CSRS employee (older retirement system), your unused sick leave adds to your length of service for annuity computation purposes. It does not count for retirement eligibility purposes.

If you are a FERS employee (the current retirement system), you lose your sick leave if you do not return to Federal service.

If you separate from the Federal service and are re-employed after December 2, 1994, your new agency will re-credit your sick leave balance unless you are CSRS and it was used to increase your retirement annuity.

Advanced Sick Leave

If you are expected to use all of your accrued (earned) sick leave, you may receive approval for up to 240 hours of "advanced" sick leave. Requests for advanced sick leave require approval by the Director of Human Resources.

Annual leave is paid absence that you may use for absences not chargeable to sick leave. Annual leave is used along with credit hours and compensatory time off for vacations and personal reasons. Annual leave is either "accrued" (meaning that you’ve already earned it) or it is "advanced" (meaning that you are expected to earn it during this leave year and that you are eligible to use it).

Earning Annual Leave

If you are a permanent employee, term employee, or a temporary employee on an appointment for more than 90 days, you earn annual leave. Your length of Federal service and work schedule determine the amount of annual leave you earn.

Full-time Employees:

• with 0-3 years of service earn 4 hours per pay period -- 13 days per year;
• with 3-15 years of service earn 6 hours per pay period -- 20 days per year; 
• with 15 years or more of service earn 8 hours per pay period -- 26 days per year.

Part-time Employees:

• with 0-3 years of service earn 1 hour for each 20 hours in a pay status per week;
• with 3-15 years of service earn 1 hour for each 13 hours in a pay status per week;
• with 15 years or more of service earn 1 hour for each 10 hours in a pay status per week.

Your current annual leave balances are shown on your biweekly leave and earnings statement.

Advanced Annual Leave

You are eligible immediately to use your earned leave. If you are a permanent or term NASA employee, you automatically receive credit for the annual leave that you will earn during the remainder of the leave year. This means you may use leave that has been advanced to you through the end of the year.

Approval of Annual Leave

Even though you are entitled to use your annual leave, your supervisor must approve when you use it.

Maximum Amount of Annual Leave

You may accumulate and save from year to year up to 240 hours (30 days) of annual leave -- up to 720 hours for most Senior Executive Service employees. Except in unusual circumstances, however, any earned hours above your 240 hours are normally lost at the end of the leave year. This is known as the "use or lose" rule.

Unused Annual Leave

Upon leaving the Federal service, you are paid in full for any accumulated, unused annual leave hours that you have earned (not including "lost" or forfeited leave). You are paid for your annual leave based upon your pay rate when you separate.

Voluntary Leave Transfer Program

You may donate accrued annual leave to another employee who is ill and is participating in the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program.

Leave for Medical Emergencies

You may also be eligible to receive donated annual leave for medical emergency situations experienced by you or a family member. You are eligible to receive donated (transferred) leave under the NASA Voluntary Leave Transfer Program if:

• the emergency is likely to require your absence from duty for at least 24 hours,
• your annual and sick leave balances are zero,
• you anticipate a substantial loss of income because of the lack of paid leave, and
• you have the emergency, or 
• your annual leave balance is zero, or
• if a family member has the medical emergency

Other Types of Leave

Court Leave

Court Leave is the approved absence without charge to leave or loss of pay from work status. Mainly, you use court leave for jury duty or for serving as an official witness for the Government.

Military Leave

Military leave is absence with pay for active duty or training. Normally, military reservists or members of the National Guard may receive up to 15 days paid leave if on military orders.

Emergency Leave

The emergency leave transfer program permits Federal employees to transfer their unused annual leave to other Federal employees adversely affected by a major disaster or emergency, as declared by the President. This program provides Federal employees with a special opportunity to help their fellow workers in times of need. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is directed by the President to establish an emergency leave transfer program when the need arises.

Leave Without Pay (LWOP)

LWOP is an absence from duty with approval, granted upon your request and your supervisor's approval. You will not be paid during any period of LWOP. Normally, LWOP is not approved until all of your accrued leave has been used. You lose Federal service credit if you have more than a total of 6 months leave without pay in a 12 month period. LWOP in excess of 30 days requires approval of the Director of Human Resources.

As a full-time federal civil servant, you receive ten paid holidays each year. Part-time employees are paid for holidays falling within their scheduled work tour but are not paid for holidays that are "in lieu of" holidays (e.g. Christmas falls on Sunday and the holiday is given on Monday). The following days are recognized: