OPM Issues Guidance on Emergency Paid Leave

On April 29, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued guidance to agencies on COVID-19 Emergency Paid Leave, which was authorized in March when Congress approved the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Congress authorized a $570 million fund for emergency paid leave and provides employees with 600 hours (15 weeks) of paid leave for pandemic-related reasons, with qualified leave occurring March 11 through September 30, 2021.

OPM outlined eight qualifying circumstances for employees to use the emergency paid leave in a summary fact sheet:

(1) Subject to Federal, State, or local government quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19 (including government advisory).

(2) Advised by health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns.

(3) Caring for an individual subject to (1) such order/advisory or (2) such advice.

(4) Experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and actively seeking a medical diagnosis.

(5) Caring for employee’s child when required because, due to COVID-19 precautions, the child’s school or place of care has been closed, or the child is participating in virtual learning instruction, or the child’s care provider is unavailable.

(6) Experiencing any other substantially similar condition (as approved by OPM).

(7) Caring for a family member (i) who has a mental or physical disability or who is 55 years of age or older and (ii) who is incapable of self-care, without regard to whether another individual other than the employee is available to care for such family member, if the place of care for such family member is closed or the direct care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19.

(8) Obtaining immunization related to COVID-19 or recovering from any injury, disability, illness, or condition related to such immunization (after using any administrative leave provided by the employing agency)

In addition to the guidance documents, OPM also released templates for employee notification and leave request, employee agreement, and answers to FAQs, as well as benefits administration letters for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  

The complete OPM memo on COVID-19 Emergency Paid Leave can be accessed here.