Paid Parental Leave (PPL) (5 U.S.C. 6382 and 5 CFR part 630, subparts L and Q)

The paid parental leave authority allows an eligible employee to substitute up to 12 weeks of
PPL for their unpaid Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitlement. An employee must
first invoke FMLA for the birth or placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster
care. PPL may be used only in connection with the birth or placement, which results in the
employee assuming a parental role with respect to the newly-born or newly-placed child (5
U.S.C. § 6382(d)(2)(B))

DoN Guidance on PPL click here.

Employee Eligibility

• To be eligible for paid parental leave under the authority in title 5, United States Code, a Federal employee must be eligible for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave under that title.

• An employee must meet FMLA eligibility requirements, including the following:
           o Has completed at least 12 months of Federal service of a type that is covered under the title  5 FMLA provisions;
           o Has a part-time or full-time work schedule (i.e., employees with an intermittent work schedule are ineligible); and
           o Has an appointment of more than 1 year in duration (i.e., employees with temporary appointments not to exceed 1 year are ineligible).

•The employee must have a qualifying birth or placement event—that is, the birth or placement (for adoption or foster care) of the employee’s child must occur on or after October 1, 2020. (This is a statutory requirement established by section 7602(c) of Public Law 116-92.)

Important Paid Parental Leave Documents:

Key Features of Paid Parental Leave
Template to Request to Use Paid Parental Leave
Template for Paid Parental Work Obligation Agreement
Examples of Types of Supporting Documents

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), most Federal employees are entitled to a total of up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for the following purposes:

• the birth of a son or daughter of the employee and the care of such son or daughter;
• the placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care;
• the care of spouse, son, daughter, or parent of the employee who has a serious health condition;
• a serious health condition of the employee that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her positions; or
• any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on covered active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty) in the Armed Forces.

Under certain conditions, an employee may use the 12 weeks of FMLA leave intermittently.  An employee may elect to substitute annual leave and/or sick leave, consistent with current laws and OPM's regulations for using annual and sick leave, for any unpaid leave under the FMLA.

For additional information on FMLA, see the OPM Fact Sheet.

Voluntary Leave Transfer Program

Employees who have exhausted all available leave may apply to become a leave recipient under the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (VLTP). To be eligible to apply for leave donations under the VLTP, you must have a personal or family medical emergency that places you in a non-pay status for at least 24 hours because of unavailable leave. If you wish to become a leave recipient, you are required to complete a OPM630, Application to Become a Leave Recipient, submit it through your supervisor for approval, and forward the application to the Human Resources Office along with medical documentation which supports the period of time requested and a current leave and earnings statement (LES).

Employees who wish to donate annual leave to a recipient under this program must complete a OPM630A, Request to Donate Annual Leave, and forward the application with a copy of their most current Civilian Leave and Earnings Statement to the Human Resources Office. The minimum amount donated is one hour and the maximum is no more than one-half the amount of annual leave the donor would be entitled to accrue during the leave year in which the donation is made.

Sign In to view current approved leave donation recipients.