Federal Employee Vacation Policy
The federal government competes for workers not only by offering good pay but good benefits, including the vacation package. All federal workers are entitled to 13 days of annual vacation at a minimum, but the longer you spend in the job, the more annual vacation time you're entitled to. The government also offers paid holidays, sick leave and family leave.
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Vacation
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Federal Jobs Digest says that for the first three years as a federal employee, you earn four hours of vacation per pay period---there are 26 pay periods a year---for a total of 13 days (at eight hours of work a job-day) a year. After three years, you earn six hours per pay period---20 days---and after 15 years, you earn eight hours a period for a total of 26 days. Work is pro-rated for part-timers. Workers can carryover a maximum of 30 days from year to year; anything beyond that must be used by the end of the year, or else you lose it. The year begins with the first day of the first pay period, which usually falls in mid-January.
Paid Holidays
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The government gives employees 10 paid holidays a year: New Year's day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, President's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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Sick Leave
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Sick leave is accrued at four hours per pay period, and that remains constant regardless of how long you work for the government. The federal government provides "leave bank" and "leave transfer" programs that allow you to receive extra annual medical leave in the event of a family or medical emergency, or to donate leave for others to use. You can use up to five days of personal medical leave for family medical emergencies such as when you have children who have to stay home sick. You can use up to another eight days, provided this won't put your sick leave account below 80 hours.
Family Medical Leave
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Under the Family Medical Leave Act, employees are entitled to unpaid leave for up to 12 weeks to deal with the birth of and care for a newborn child; adopting a child; caring for a child, parent or spouse with a serious health condition; or your own health if it makes you unable to work. FMLA entitles you to keep your health insurance while you're away, and when you return, you must be placed in the same or equivalent position as when you left. You may substitute some of your paid annual leave for unpaid leave if you want.
Organ Donors
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Federal employees can receive seven days of paid leave to serve as a bone-marrow donor and 30 days to serve as an organ donor. This is in addition to regular vacation and sick leave.
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