Federal Managers Association

FMA Working for You

• WOUNDED WARRIORS FEDERAL LEAVE ACT INTRODUCED IN HOUSE - July 31, 2014

• Some New Feds Could Soon Get Bonus Sick Leave

  By Eric Katz, Government Executive

  Representative Stephen Lynch (R-MA) introduced the Wounded Warrior Federal Leave Act (H.R. 5229), providing 104 hour of sick leave up front to first year federal employees who qualify under the Department of Veterans Affairs as thirty percent disabled. The Federal Managers Association (FMA) brought this issue to the attention of Rep. Lynch as Association members noted first year federal employees struggled to meet necessary medical appointments with a constrained amount of leave, often exhausting what time off they had. Commenting on the bill, FMA National President Patricia Niehaus stated, "The Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act will ensure that federal agencies and departments' missions and goals will be met while treating our disabled veteran first year federal employees with the treatment they deserve, and ensuring the federal government is a model employer.”

  Representative Lynch supported the bill, commenting, "The lack of initial sick leave for new federal workers places a significant burden on our disabled veterans during their first year of federal employment. Our wounded warrior federal employees who are just starting out in the federal workforce are often faced with the difficult choice of having to take unpaid leave to attend their VA appointments or miss their medical visits."

  To read the full article, please click here.

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