InsideGov
Congress · Laws

Federal Employees Leave Sharing Act of 1988

Public Law 100-566 · H.R. 3757 · 100th Congress · began in the House

Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Oct 31, 1988 · Government Operations and Politics

Sponsor: Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY-7)

Cosponsors (19): Rep. Frank Wolf,

Passage votes

  • HouseVoice vote
  • SenateVoice vote
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

Report a correction

Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

Federal Employees Leave Sharing Act of 1988 - Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish a program under which the annual leave of a Federal employee may be transferred to the annual leave of any other Federal employee if such other employee requires additional leave because of a medical emergency. Excludes District of Columbia government employees from provisions of this Act.

Describes the requirements for receiving and using transferred leave and for donating annual leave. Authorizes an employing agency to require certification from one or more physicians, or other appropriate experts, with respect to the reasons why transferred leave is needed.

Requires agencies to establish procedures to ensure that a leave recipient is not permitted to use or receive transferred leave after the medical emergency ceases to exist.

Provides for restoring unused transferred leave to leave donors on a prorated basis.

Provides for the accrual and accumulation of leave by employees using transferred leave. Limits such employees to an accumulation of no more than five days of annual leave and five days of sick leave.

Prohibits an employee from being coerced into donating, receiving, or using annual leave under the voluntary leave transfer program.

Exempts the following agencies from the provisions of this Act: (1) the Central Intelligence Agency; (2) the Defense Intelligence Agency; (3) the National Security Agency; (4) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and (5) any executive agency or unit which functions in the conduct of foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities. Authorizes such agencies to establish voluntary leave-transfer programs consistent with the protection of intelligence sources and methods, and consistent, to the extent practicable, with provisions of this Act.

Makes provisions of law prohibiting gifts to superiors inapplicable with respect to leave-transfer programs.

Directs OPM to establish a voluntary leave bank program under which: (1) annual leave may be contributed to a leave bank established by the employing agency; and (2) an employee experiencing a medical emergency may use leave from such leave bank.

Directs OPM to establish a demonstration project to test voluntary leave bank programs in at least three executive agencies, of which: (1) one agency shall include not less than 100,000 full-time positions; (2) one agency shall include not less than 25,000 full-time positions; and (3) one agency shall include not less than 1,000 full-time positions.

Directs each such agency to establish a leave bank (or leave banks) from annual leave contributed by its employees. Requires each agency to establish a Leave Bank Board to administer the leave bank.

Requires employees to make a written application to the Board requesting that a specified number of their annual leave hours be transferred to the leave bank. Allows an employee to state a concern and desire to aid a specified proposed leave recipient. Sets forth a formula for determining how much leave an employee may contribute to a leave bank.

Declares an employee eligible to be a leave recipient if such employee: (1) experiences a medical emergency and applies to the leave bank for leave; and (2) has contributed the required minimum number of hours to the leave bank in the same calendar year that such employee applies for leave and the contribution is made before the employee submits an application.

Sets forth requirements for an application for the receipt of contributions of leave and for the use of such leave. Authorizes such leave to be substituted retroactively for periods of leave-without-pay or used to liquidate an indebtedness for advanced leave.

Provides that the prohibition on gifts to supervisors does not apply to the voluntary leave bank programs.

Directs the Board to establish procedures to ensure that a leave recipient does not use or receive leave after the medical emergency ceases to exist.

Directs OPM to establish procedures under which any transferred leave remaining to the credit of a leave recipient when the medical emergency terminates is restored to the leave bank.

Prohibits an employee from intimidating, threatening, or coercing any other employee for the purpose of interfering with such employee's right to contribute, receive, or use annual leave from a leave bank.

Provides for intelligence agencies to operate leave bank programs.

Requires the leave transfer and leave bank programs to be implemented not later than six months and nine months, respectively, after the date of enactment this Act. Terminates such programs five years after such date.

Requires OPM to report to the Congress on the operations of such programs.

Provides for continuing the temporary leave transfer program established under the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act, 1988, until the programs under this Act take effect.

Revises the eligibility for travel expenses of career appointees prior to retirement.

Extends the authorization for the Department of the Navy to continue operation of pay demonstration projects at China Lake and San Diego, California, until September 30, 1995.

Provides that the limitation on disability compensation payments shall not apply to employees injured in the line of duty by an assault.

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

Report a correction

Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 16 actions.

  1. Oct 31, 1988Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 100-566.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Oct 21, 1988PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Oct 12, 1988Resolving differencesResolving differences · House Agreed to Senate Amendments by Voice Vote.
  5. Oct 5, 1988FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.
  6. FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
  7. CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
  8. Mar 24, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
  9. Mar 22, 1988FloorFloor · Passed House (Amended) by Yea-Nay Vote: 408 - 9 (Record Vote No: 38).House roll call 38
  10. Mar 17, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  11. Feb 3, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  12. CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Compensation and Employee Benefits Subcommittee of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  13. CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Compensation and Employee Benefits Subcommittee of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  14. Dec 29, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Compensation and Employee Benefits Subcommittee of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  15. Dec 14, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
  16. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes

Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.

Report a correction

Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.