While veteran’s benefits can help a veteran gain employment with the federal government, the benefits don’t stop there. The US Congress has enacted several laws that benefit veterans even after they are hired by the federal government. Veterans need to know these benefits so they can enjoy what Congress intended and to make sure that agencies follow the rules when it comes to veteran’s benefits. These benefits come in the form of annual leave, greater retirement benefits, job retention during reductions in force and enhanced appeal rights under certain programs. This article covers the leave accrual rules for veterans when they are employed by the federal government.
Military Service Means Enhanced Leave Accrual
When a veteran is hired by the federal government, one of the first things that veteran should do is make sure that his or her military service is properly recorded with human resources. Employees without prior military or federal service start earning annual leave at the rate of 4 hours per pay period, and this rate continues for the first three years of federal service. With 26 two-week pay periods in a year, this means a federal employee earns 13 days of vacation per year. After 3 years and up to 15 years of service, the federal employee earns 6 hours per pay period, and with 15 years of service the leave accrual rate is 8 hours per pay period or 26 days vacation per year.
For most veterans this works out much differently. As long as the veteran did not receive an adverse discharge, each year of service is viewed by the federal government as a year of creditable service for the purpose of leave accrual. This means that a veteran who completed a 3-year term or longer will start federal service with 6 hours of leave accrual and will move up to 8 hours of leave accrual once the years of military and federal service totals 15 years.
Special Rules for Military Retirees
Veterans who retired from the active duty military are treated much differently. Because Congress viewed military personnel who were receiving a retirement check as one form of compensation, they viewed the enhanced leave accrual as a form of dual compensation. Accordingly, a military retiree starts federal service as if there were no prior service, unless the individual had federal service prior to military service.
The exception to the dual compensation concept is that Congress also recognized the arduous and dangerous nature of military service. Military retirees who have time in a combat zone, a campaign medal or an expeditionary medal are eligible to have that time counted toward leave accrual. To claim this time and thus advance the leave accrual rate, the veteran must file a SF-813 (a standard form available from OPM) and also provide evidence in the form of copies from the official service record, along with certification from the personnel office in charge of the veteran’s active duty service record.
The process can take from six months to a year, but once the eligible time is computed, the human resources office for the agency where the veteran works can quickly adjust the date from which the leave accrual rate is calculated. While the process requires patience, the benefits of extra leave accrual is well worth the effort.
Extra leave accrual is one of several benefits available to veterans. To learn more about veteran’s benefits and the programs available to veterans, including the prestigious Presidential Management Fellows program, the following articles are recommended:
How Veterans Can Get Hired By the Federal Government
Different Types of Veterans Preference in Federal Hiring
Veterans and the Presidential Management Fellows Program
Mark Butler - Mark Butler is a Navy veteran and the author of The Coffee Break Guide for Veterans Seeking Federal Employment.
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