MILITARY LEAVE
(CT:PER-1273; 09-14-2026)
(Office of Origin: HR/CPI/EBP)
3 FAM 3441 AUTHORITY
(CT:PER-1273; 09-14-2026)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service & Civil Service Employees)
The authorities for this policy are as follows:
(1) 5 U.S.C. 6323;
(2) 5 U.S.C. 5519;
(3) 5 U.S.C. 8905;
(4) 5 U.S.C. 8906; and
(5) OPM Guidance.
3 FAM 3442 Definitions
(CT:PER-1273; 09-14-2026)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service & Civil Service Employees)
Contingency Operation: is a military operation that (1) Is designated by the Secretary of Defense as an operation in which members of the armed forces are or may become involved in military actions, operations, or hostilities against an enemy of the United States or against an opposing military force; or(2) Results in the call or order to, or retention on, active duty members of the uniformed services under 10 U.S.C. 688, 10 U.S.C. 12301(a), 10 U.S.C. 12302, 10 U.S.C. 12304, 10 U.S.C. 12304a , 10 U.S.C. 12305, 10 U.S.C. 12406, 10 U.S.C. 251-255, 14 U.S.C. 3713 , or any other provision of law during a war or during a national emergency as declared by the President or Congress.
Leave of absence for Military Duty: Is an absence from work for the performance of military duty accounted for by military leave, annual leave, sick leave (in accordance with 3 FAM 3420), accrued compensatory time off for travel, leave without pay (LWOP), or any combination of these, depending on the circumstances and nature of the performance of the military duty.
Military duty: Is any period of active duty for training or for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or inactive duty training in the Armed Forces of the United States. Military duty also covers full-time training or other full-time duty performed by a member of the National Guard under 32 U.S.C. 316, 503, 504, and 505, and inactive duty training performed by a member of the National Guard or a member of a reserve component of a uniformed service under 32 U.S.C. 502 or 37 U.S.C 206.
Reservist differential: Is a payment made to eligible federal civilian employees who are members of the Reserve or National Guard during periods when they are called or ordered to active duty under specific provisions of law; the payment is equal to the amount by which an employee’s projected civilian “basic pay” for a covered pay period exceeds the employee’s actual military “pay and allowances” allocable to that pay period.
3 FAM 3443 GENERAL
(CT:PER-1273; 09-14-2026)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service & Civil Service Employees)
a. All full-time career employees and temporary employees whose appointments are for an indefinite period of time or for a period of more than one (1) year, to include U.S. Citizen Locally Employed Staff, are entitled to military leave, when official orders or a written or verbal notice is presented to the leave-approving officer identified in 3 FAM 3445. Employees on appointments limited to one year or less (e.g., NTE one-year appointments) are not eligible for military leave. Military leave is prorated for part-time career employees and employees on an uncommon tour of duty (see 3 FAH-1 H-3441.2 and 3 FAH-1 H-3440 Exhibit 3441.1). Employees who are members of the:
(1) Army National Guard of the United States;
(2) Army Reserve;
(3) Naval Reserve;
(4) Marine Corps Reserve;
(5) Air National Guard of the Unites States;
(6) Air Force Reserve; and
(7) Coast Guard Reserve
must be granted military leave not to exceed 20 workdays per fiscal year for any active duty, active-duty training, inactive duty training, funeral honors duty, or other duty or training under 5 USC 6323(a) without loss of, or reduction in, pay, leave to which otherwise entitled, credit for time or service, or performance or efficiency rating. Except as provided in 3 FAM 3443 (d) and (e), an employee may carryover a maximum of 20 days into next the fiscal year (at no time may the total balance exceed 40 days in a fiscal year.)
b. This leave accrues at the beginning of each fiscal year, and all Guard or Reserve members, including those on extended active duty, should be credited with 20 days of paid military leave on October 1 of each year.
c. There is no minimum service requirement prior to crediting or using the leave. For example, an employee who joins a Reserve unit in March receives the full 20 days. There is no proration for a partial year. Unused leave can be carried into the next fiscal year; however, at no time may the total balance exceed 40- days in a fiscal year.
d. Emergency Duty Military Leave: up to 22 workdays of military leave per calendar year for emergency duty as ordered by the President, the Secretary of War, or a State Governor. This leave is provided for employees who perform military duties in support of civil authorities in the protection of life and property or who perform full-time military service as a result of a call or order to active duty in support of a contingency operation:
(1) Under this provision, the employee is entitled to receive the greater of military or civilian pay for up to 22 days per calendar year; civilian pay must be offset by the military pay the employee receives during the 22 days;
(2) If the employee chooses to use annual leave or compensatory time for travel (or sick leave, as applicable) instead of military leave, the pay offset is not applicable, and the employee is entitled to both military and civilian pay;
(3) Employees must have qualifying orders to use emergency duty military leave;
(4) The minimum charge to emergency duty military leave is one (1) hour; and
(5) Use of emergency duty military leave requires a Uniform Service Status code of “1, 2, 3 or 9”.
e. Unlimited military leave is authorized for qualified employees who are members of the National Guard of the District of Columbia for certain limited types of duty ordered or authorized under Title 49 of the District of Columbia Code pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 6323(c).
f. Only Reserve and National Guard technicians are entitled to 44 workdays of military leave per calendar year for duties abroad under certain conditions pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 6323(d).
g. Employees ordered to extend active duty for general service with the Armed Forces for over 30 days of LWOP shall be placed on military furlough by their assigned Bureau HR provider by executing a SF-50 personnel action in accordance with OPM’s Guide for Processing Personnel Actions (GPPA) (see 3 FAM 2560.)
3 FAM 3444 COMPUTATION OF MILITARY LEAVE
3 FAM 3444.1 General
(CT:PER-1273; 09-14-2026)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service & Civil Service Employees)
a. Military leave may be taken intermittently, a day at a time, or as otherwise directed under orders issued by competent military authority. An employee may be charged military leave only for the hours the employee would otherwise have worked and received pay:
(1) Non-workdays (typically weekends and holidays) that fall within a period of absence for military service are not charged against the military leave allowable during the fiscal year; and
(2) Travel to and from active or inactive duty may be chargeable to military leave only for the travel that must take place within the regular hours of work or tour of duty; travel outside the regular hours of work is non-compensable and not eligible for compensatory time off for travel.
b. Generally, if a military duty period extends beyond 30 calendar days of LWOP, the employee will be placed on military furlough by executing a SF-50 personnel action, or separated for military service (see 3 FAM 2560.)
c. The minimum charge to military leave is one (1) hour.
3 FAM 3444.2 Absences in Lieu of Military Leave
(CT:PER-1273; 09-14-2026)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service & Civil Service Employees)
An employee may elect to use annual leave, earned compensatory time off for travel, sick leave (consistent with 3 FAM 3420 Sick Leave), or LWOP in lieu of military leave. An employee who is a member of the Reserve components of the Armed Forces or the National Guard and who is called for a period of training or for a period of active duty or inactive duty beyond the accrued military leave balance, may receive certain civilian pay, allowances, or differentials (e.g., danger pay, post differentials, overtime, etc.) concurrently with military pay for training or active duty. Eligibility for any allowances is determined in accordance with the Department of State Standardized Regulations.
3 FAM 3444.3 Prohibition Against Active Civilian Employment
(CT:PER-1273; 09-14-2026)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service & Civil Service Employees)
a. Reservist and National Guard members who are ordered into the active or inactive military service of the United States with the military pay and allowances of their grades, may not be employed during the period of such service in an active civilian capacity under the U.S. Government. This is the case even for civilian services that would be rendered during the military member's hours of relaxation or time provided to attend to personal affairs.
b. However, these Reserve components and Guard members may use accrued military leave and/or may be carried in LWOP, paid annual or sick leave status to the extent of their accrued or accumulated annual and/or sick leave (consistent with 3 FAM 3420), or under earned compensatory time off for travel during the period of their active military service.
3 FAM 3444.4 Overtime and Night-Differential Pay
(CT:PER-1273; 09-14-2026)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service & Civil Service Employees)
An employee on military leave, who is absent on a day on which the employee is regularly scheduled to work, is entitled to overtime compensation for that day, provided the employee otherwise would be eligible for such premium pay because the regularly scheduled or required overtime period would be either in excess of the 40-hour work week or in excess of eight (8) hours in a day. When an employee’s tour of duty permits payment of night differential pay, the employee is entitled to night differential pay during military leave.
3 FAM 3445 REQUESTING AND GRANTING MILITARY LEAVE
(CT:PER-1273; 09-14-2026)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service & Civil Service Employees)
a. The employee should submit a written request for military leave and provide a copy of the orders or training memo to the leave-approving official. Notice must be provided in advance and may be written or oral by the employee or by an appropriate officer of the branch of military in which the employee will be serving unless:
(1) Military necessity prevents the giving of notice in advance; or
(2) The giving of notice in advance is otherwise impossible or unreasonable.
b. The employee may request any annual leave, leave without pay, or earned compensatory time for travel in addition to military leave as prescribed in accordance with those leave regulations (see 3 FAM 3440, 3 FAM 3420, 3 FAM 3510, and 3 FAM 3170). The employee may also request sick leave in addition to military leave in accordance with the statutory and regulatory criteria for using sick leave (see 3 FAM 3420).
c. Leave approving officials authorized to grant annual leave may grant military leave to employees (both abroad and in the United States).
3 FAM 3446 COMPENSATION, Benefits, AND TRAVEL EXPENSES
(CT:PER-1273; 09-14-2026)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service & Civil Service Employees)
a. While on military leave and/or other paid leave granted for purposes described in 3 FAM 3443(a), employees may be paid salary, differential, and allowances in accordance with pertinent regulations, even though they may also be compensated from appropriations of the Armed Forces during the period of training.
b. For military leave under 3 FAM 3443 (d) and (e) an employee's civilian pay calculated as it is for military leave granted for purposes described in 3 FAM 3442(a), is reduced by the amount of military pay for the days of military leave. An employee may choose not to take military leave and instead take annual leave, compensatory time off for travel, or sick leave, if appropriate, in order to retain both civilian and military pay.
c. Travel time can be charged to military leave in connection with leave for training in the Armed Forces, if travel time occurs during an employee's normally scheduled work hours.
d. Employees may be eligible for the Reservist Differential should the employee be called to active duty under 10 USC 12304(b) or a provision of law referred to in 10 USC 101(a)(13)(B). The active duty under 10 USC 101(a)(13)(B) does not have to be related to a war or national emergency declared by the President or Congress; the call or order to active duty only must occur during such event(s).
e. Employees ordered to extend active duty for general service with the Armed Forces for over 30 days of LWOP should complete a DS-5112 Employee Statement Concerning FEHB Coverage During Non-Pay Status and submit to their applicable Bureau EX HR office or HR service provider.
f. If the employee is called to active duty in support of a contingency operation and is placed on LWOP for more than 30 consecutive days, the employee may elect to continue FEHB coverage up to 24 months after the employee is placed on LWOP. During this period, both the employee share and government share of FEHB premiums will be covered by the Department.
g. FEGLI coverage continues at no cost for 12 consecutive months for employees in a non-pay status.
3 FAM 3447 PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES
(CT:PER-1273; 09-14-2026)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service & Civil Service Employees)
See 3 FAH-1 H-3440.
3 FAM 3448 THROUGH 3449 UNASSIGNED
(CT:PER-1273; 09-14-2026)