The authority to make determinations that the exigency of the public business is of such importance that scheduled annual leave may not be used by an employee and therefore may be carried over in accordance with applicable statutes, executive orders, regulations, and policies. This delegation also includes authority to restore annual leave lost because of approved use of sick leave causing loss of annual leave, and loss of annual leave due to administrative error is delegated to:

Before forfeited annual leave may be considered for restoration, as required by 5 CFR 630.308, use of the annual leave must have been scheduled in writing before the start of the third biweekly pay period prior to the end of the leave year.

Annual leave forfeited as a result of illness or administrative error will be restored for the employee's use.

An employee must schedule and use restored annual leave not later than the end of the leave year ending 2 years after:

(5) Restored annual leave that is not used within the established time limits is forfeited with no further right to restoration.

An employee will receive a lump-sum payment for any unused annual leave when he or she separates from Federal service or enters on active duty in the armed forces and elects to receive a lump-sum payment. Generally, a lump-sum payment will equal the pay the employee would have received had he or she remained employed until expiration of the period covered by the annual leave. A lump-sum leave payment will be calculated as provided by 5 U.S.C. 5551 and 6306, and 5 CFR Part 550, Subpart L.

Sick leave requested by an IRS employee will be granted as provided by 5 CFR 630.401 when the employee:

An employee may not be granted more than 104 hours of sick leave (or, for a part time employee, a pro-rated amount) for the purposes described in (1) e and f. In addition, to be granted more than 40 hours of sick leave during a leave year (or, for a part-time employee, a proportionately equal amount) for the purposes described in (1) e and f, the employee must maintain a sick leave balance of more than 80 hours (or proportionately equal amount).

An employee who is caring for a family member with a serious health condition under (1) d, may not use a total of more than 480 hours of sick leave during a leave year. If any portion of sick leave is used for the purposes described in (1) e or f, that amount must be subtracted from the 480 hours of sick leave available for use under this provision.

A supervisor may require medical certification or other administratively acceptable evidence as to the reason for an absence for any of the purposes described in (1).

The authority to approve administrative leave for conduct-related disciplinary or adverse actions is delegated to :

Prior to approving the Single Entry Time Reporting (SETR) record for conduct-related administrative leave for one pay period or less, the first-line manager will obtain the approval of the "Approving Official " at the next higher administrative level and consult with the servicing AWSS staff. In emergency situations requiring the immediate removal of a potentially dangerous or disruptive employee, the first-line manager is empowered to act without prior approval or consultation; in such situations, the manager should obtain the retroactive concurrence of the higher-level "Approving Official" and consult with AWSS no later than 2 workdays after the start of the period of administrative leave. The documentary record outlined in 6.600.1.8.9.5, below, will be prepared.

Before placing employees on any conduct-based administrative leave managers will contact and consult with their servicing AWSS Labor Relations specialist (LR); the servicing LR specialist will coordinate and advise the appropriate senior LR specialist of the situation. AWSS staff should initiate contact with and consult with other parties, such as Treasury Inspector General Tax Administration (TIGTA) and General Legal Services (GLS), to obtain necessary input and/or information. The leave-approving manager, with the assistance of the servicing LR specialist, is responsible for maintaining, as necessary, follow-up contacts with TIGTA, GLS and other parties to assure that all the major stakeholders involved in the situation are kept fully informed.

As necessary, the head of the operating, functional and support units and the National Headquarters units, or their designated representatives, should be consulted with to develop action plans and strategies for resolving case impasses and delays which involve non-IRS parties such as TIGTA and the Office of the Assistant United States Attorney (OAUSA), Department of Justice.

"Administrative leave" is simply defined as the placement of an employee in a non-duty status without charge to leave or loss of pay. While this definition may be simple, the proper use of administrative leave is a bit more complex. In the absence of specific statutory authority or general regulations from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), each agency has "administrative discretion" to determine situations in which excusing employees without charge to leave is appropriate. However, the interpretive authorities (formerly the Comptroller General, now the OPM) have consistently found that " extended periods of absence" which do not " further a function of the agency" are not appropriate or supportable. In exercising it's discretion, each agency should generally limit its granting of administrative leave to "short, rather than long or substantial periods of time."

"Administrative leave related to disciplinary or adverse actions" occurs when the removal or suspension of an employee is proposed, and the employee is normally carried in a duty status during the notice period. However, there may be "rare circumstances" where it is determined that the continued presence of the employee "may pose a threat to himself or others, result in loss of or damage to Government property, or otherwise jeopardize legitimate Government interests. " In such situations, 5 CFR Part 752 authorizes, among a number of alternatives, the placement of an employee on administrative leave "for such time as is necessary to effect the action" [emphasis supplied]. The action referred to is the "proposed" adverse action and the time referred to is that required to complete or finalize the removal or suspension. The length of time envisaged here is directly connected to a proposal notice and is thus in step with the concept of " short, rather than long or substantial periods of time" discussed above.

"Indefinite suspension" is defined in 5 CFR Part 752.402(e) as "the placing of an employee in a temporary status without duties and pay pending investigation, inquiry, or further agency action. " An indefinite suspension requires an advance written notice period and is appealable to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) or grievable under the National Agreement. However, unlike other adverse actions, indefinite suspensions "are not based upon provable misconduct but upon the examination into that misconduct." The agency must have " reasonable cause" for its action (such as an indictment and/or an investigation accompanied by other evidence) which warrants the indefinite suspension of the employee. The suspension notice must indicate the condition, which will end the indefinite suspension, e.g., completion of the investigation, completion of the criminal proceedings, etc.

The "Crime Provision" in 5 CFR Part 752.404(d)(1) authorizes an agency to shorten the notice period for an adverse action to 7 calendar days… "when the agency has reasonable cause to believe that the employee has committed a crime for which a sentence of imprisonment may be imposed. . . ." The Crime Provision provides a quick mechanism for removal of an employee and termination of pay where a nexus (connection) between the alleged crime and the efficiency of the service can be established. The Crime Provision is justified by an indictment or an arrest with evidence of a probable cause determination against the employee who is held for further legal action. Indefinite suspension actions are frequently used in situations where the Crime Provision is invoked. If the employee is not found culpable by the courts, the agency must decide to return the employee to duty and/or initiate, if warranted, an appropriate disciplinary or adverse action based on the evidence available to it.

The "Approving Official" refers to the management official who has the authority to place an employee on conduct-related administrative leave. (See 6.600.1.8.9.1(1) above.)

Placement of an employee on limited administrative leave is appropriate in situations where no alternative to retention of the employee in a duty or approved leave status is possible; the Crime Provision is invoked; or where the IRS determines that it would be detrimental to agency operations to retain the employee in a duty status pending the conclusion of a removal or suspension action.

Managers are responsible, with the assistance of their servicing AWSS staff, for developing and maintaining a documentary record for decisions placing an employee on conduct-related administrative leave. A copy of this documentation should be forwarded to the Director, Commissioner's Complaint Processing and Analysis Group (CCPAG). The documentation will include, as a minimum, the following:

In evaluating the viability of alternatives to administrative leave, managers and advisory staff should give thorough and comprehensive consideration to such factors as the employee's position and duties, access to sensitive equipment or information, or data systems, security clearance or level of public trust, the availability or development of other work or duties, the impact of his/her continued presence in the workplace, the level of security that is or is not available, and similar factors. Decision-makers should also weigh the costs and notoriety of extended paid non-duty status versus retention in a work status, the impact on the investigation process, and the subsequent adjudication of any adverse personnel action or legal action.

When an employee is placed on conduct-based administrative leave, management will ensure that the SETR code for "ER Issues-Administrative Leave" is recorded by the timekeeper. The servicing LR specialist will open a case in the Automated Labor and Employee Relations Tracking System (ALERTS) and will proactively coordinate with management, GLS, TIGTA, and other parties in processing disciplinary or adverse actions connected with the case.

Administrative leave is not a substitute for proposing and effecting an adverse action. It is not, for example, appropriate in matters relating to employee performance. Management is expected to expeditiously deal with the underlying misconduct and propose appropriate disciplinary or adverse action with the support of the LR specialist. In situations where the employee is incarcerated or is otherwise absent from duty without proper authorization, he or she should normally be placed in an absence without leave (AWOL) status. Wherever supportable, managers should initiate appropriate disciplinary or adverse action based on AWOL or other employee misconduct that may not be directly connected with the subject of any concurrent investigation or proposed indictment. In addition, where there is a lack of information or evidence on which to base action, management and supporting staff advisors should initiate a concerted outreach to those parties that may have access to the evidence.

The existing Commissioner's 1203 Review Board reviews instances of extended administrative leave. Chaired by the Deputy Commissioner, the Board is empowered to analyze conduct-related administrative leave situations based on input and information obtained from the Business/Operating Units and existing SETR and ALERTS data bases. Where the guidelines articulated in this IRM and other existing leave and disciplinary or adverse action procedures and policies are not met, the Business/Operating Unit will be advised to re-examine the situation and take appropriate follow-up action. The CCPAG is responsible for providing staff support to the Board.