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• OPM TO PUBLISH FINAL RULE OF WOUNDED WARRIORS FEDERAL LEAVE ACT AND EXTENDS THE NEW LEAVE TO THE BROADEST NUMBER OF POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLE DISABLED VETERANS - August 5, 2016

• New Leave Benefit for Eligible Disabled Vets Takes Effect in November

  By Kellie Lunney, Government Executive

  The Office of Personnel Management on Friday will publish the final rule implementing a law that gives new federal employees who are disabled veterans the equivalent of a full year’s sick leave up front to go to their medical appointments.

  The 2015 Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act gives 104 hours of leave immediately to first-year feds who are vets with a service-connected disability rating of at least 30 percent to attend medical appointments related to their disability. It applies to those hired on, or after Nov. 5, 2016, and lasts for 12 months from the date of hire, or the effective date of the employee’s qualifying service-connected disability—whichever is later.

  “This rule ensures the federal government supports our service members who have sacrificed their own health and well-being to serve our country. We know this is something they need,” said acting OPM Director Beth Cobert in a statement on Thursday. “We want these veterans to have sufficient leave during their first year of federal service in order to take care of any medical issues related to their service-connected disability.”

  To read the full article, please click here.

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