Balancing 

Work, 

Family, & Life:

The APHIS Approach

United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

PICK UP KIMBERLY AT

WEDNESDAY MEETING WITH BRANC

Introduction 2

Memo From the President 3

Balancing the Worlds of Work and HOME Life 5

Scheduling Options 7

Alternative Work Schedules

Flexiplace

Part-Time Employment

Job Sharing

Leave Policies 11

Absence for Childbirth

Leave for Adoption

Absence for Children’s Needs

Bereavement and Caring for Family Members 

Family and Medical Leave

Leave-Transfer Program

Time-Off Incentive Awards

Administrative Leave

Other Assistance Available 15

Employee Assistance Program

Family Resource Service

WFL Supervisor’s Advisory Committee

Improved Insurance Benefits

Health and Wellness

Onsite or Near-Site Child Care Centers

Breastfeeding Campaign

child support

Educational Assistance Programs

When You Move at Our Request...

Would You Like To Work Abroad? 19

OPM Report 21

1

Contents
his booklet, titled “Balancing Work, Family, and Life: The APHIS Approach,” describes options available to supervisors and employees in meeting their professional and personal needs.

I believe employees’ health and welfare are as important as the knowledge, skills, and abilities they bring to the job.

The Work * Family * Life (WFL) Council developed this booklet to help Agency supervisors, work teams, and employees work more effectively. It describes flexibilities to help overcome difficulties that arise when balancing professional and personal

responsibilities. This booklet is the second version; the first was published in 1992. This version contains more flexibilities and

options than the first, demonstrating the progress that has been made in helping employees balance personal and professional life in

the Agency and the rest of the Federal Government.

In July 1994, the President issued a memorandum (the text of which follows this Introduction) promoting the National Performance

Review’s recommendation to encourage expanded use of flexible work arrangements. To comply with this directive, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has established itself as a family-friendly workplace—one that acknowledges the whole-person concept

by providing a wide range of flexible work arrangements, enabling employees to better balance the competing demands of work and

family in today’s fast-paced, complex environment. USDA defines a family member as “parents, spouses, children, children of a person standing in loco parentis, and any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with an employee is equivalent of

a family relationship, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.” As USDA reinvents itself, it has developed a WFL policy and guide.

Your staff’s WFL Council member or WFL Coordinator can provide a copy. Flexible work environments are considered essential to the

Department’s efforts to reengineer and maintain a highly skilled and motivated workforce. 

One of the APHIS vision elements is Valuing People in the Workplace. This element begins, “As an organization, APHIS is sensitive to

the need to balance family and personal responsibilities and professional goals.” The APHIS Management Team supports WFL initiatives. Employees demonstrate loyalty, job satisfaction, and productivity in the workplace if they know that they and their coworkers

are treated fairly and have access to a growing array of flexibilities to help improve productivity while meeting professional and personal obligations.

Supervisors are encouraged to identify jobs and situations in which flexible work arrangements are appropriate. All flexible work

arrangements require thoughtful reflection, trust, and accountability, as well as ongoing discussions between supervisors and employees. Although most flexibilities are appropriate for many employees, utilization should not be viewed as an employee entitlement. Job

requirements as well as an employee’s circumstances must be carefully considered when determining the appropriateness of using

these flexibilities. Balancing a family-friendly workplace with achieving the critical mission of APHIS will continue to be a challenge.

Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile and realistic goal, and a goal to which we are totally committed.

I am pleased that the WFL Council provides and distributes this booklet and similar materials because of the confidence and trust I

have that APHIS employees will use flexible work options responsibly while maintaining commitment to Agency mission and goals.

For further information or assistance, please contact the WFL Specialist at (301) 734-4989 or any of the WFL Council members or

WFL Coordinators.

Lonnie J. King

Administrator

2

INTRODUCTION

T
July 11, 1994

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: Expanding Family-Friendly Work Arrangements in the Executive Branch 

n order to recruit and retain a Federal workforce that will provide the highest quality of service to the American people, the executive branch must

implement flexible work arrangements to create a “family-friendly” workplace. Broad use of flexible work arrangements to enable Federal employees

to better balance their work and family responsibilities can increase employee effectiveness and job satisfaction, while decreasing turnover rates and

absenteeism. I therefore adopt the National Performance Review’s recommendation that a more family-friendly workplace be created by expanding

opportunities for Federal workers to participate in flexible work arrangements, consistent with the mission of the executive branch to serve the public.

The head of each executive department or agency (hereafter collectively “agency” or “agencies”) is hereby directed to establish a program to encourage

and support the expansion of flexible family-friendly work arrangements, including: job sharing, career part-time employment, alternative work schedules, telecommuting, and satellite work locations. Such a program shall include:

(1) identifying agency positions that are suitable for flexible work arrangements;

(2) adopting appropriate policies to increase the opportunities for employees in suitable positions to participate in such flexible work arrangements;

(3) providing appropriate training and support necessary to implement flexible work arrangements; and

(4) identifying barriers to implementing this directive and providing recommendations for addressing such barriers to the President’s Management 

Council.

I direct the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”) and the Administrator of General Services (“GSA”) to take all necessary steps to

support and encourage the expanded implementation of flexible work arrangements. The OPM and GSA shall work in concert to promptly review and

revise regulations that are barriers to such work arrangements and develop legislative proposals, as needed, to achieve the goals of this directive. The

OPM and GSA also shall assist agencies, as requested, to implement this directive.

The President’s Management Council, in conjunction with the Office of Management and Budget, shall ensure that any guidance necessary to implement

the actions set forth in this directive is provided.

Independent agencies are requested to adhere to this directive to the extent permitted by law.

This directive is for the internal management of the executive branch and is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by a party against the United States, its agencies or instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other person.

The Director of the Office of Management and Budget is authorized and directed to publish this directive in the Federal Register.

William J. Clinton

Memo from 

the president

i

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PICK UP KIMBERLY AT DAYCARE WEDNESDAY MEETING WITH BRANCH CHIEF

FINISH PROPOSAL BY FRIDAY

VISIT MOTHER AT NURSING H

E MO

PTA MEET NI G THURSDAY NIGHT

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Here at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s

(USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), we try to create an environment

where work expectations and employment conditions are responsive to the needs of today’s

employees—not the workforce of the fifties. We

know that you want to do right by your on-thejob responsibilities and meet your personal

needs, too. But balancing the demands of your

supervisor or work team and your kids, the

branch chief and your father’s nursing-home

personnel, the people you supervise and your

daughter’s daycare provider can be quite a juggling act. The APHIS Work * Family * Life (WFL)

Council strives to help APHIS employees balance

these competing responsibilities.

Everybody making hiring decisions in APHIS,

from top management through first-line supervisors, wants to staff the agency with the sharpest,

most dedicated people we can find. And we want

to keep them, too. 

If you are a current employee, we want to be

sure you know all your options. Current employees can contact their supervisor or WFL Coordinator for more details.

If you are a prospective employee, we want you

to understand how choosing to work for APHIS

can help you juggle the demands of everyday life

and your desire for a meaningful career.

Prospective employees can contact APHIS at

(800) 762-2738 for further information about

any of the following topics.

BALANCING THE

WORLDS OF WORK

AND HOME LIFE

ack in the 1950’s, the national media

portrayed American families as more

alike than dissimilar. In the majority of

households depicted, Dad worked outside the home while Mom kept house

and took care of the children full time. Popular

television series like “Ozzie and Harriet” and

“Leave It to Beaver” immortalized this way of

life.

By the 1990’s, though, television shows had

switched to featuring multigenerational families

under one roof, single-parent households,

female heads-of-household with full-time jobs,

unrelated adults living together, and two-career

families. These changes reflect a more diverse

society. In fact, now more than half of U.S. mothers hold down jobs outside the home. Singleparent households are common. And with

people living longer, today’s wage earners often

have to manage the care of their elderly or disabled parents as well as that of their children. 

B
6
install new faucets

review the scrapie factsheets

get little league coaches togeth

re

schedule annual physical

justify cash reward for richard ost full-time employees of the

Federal Government’s executive branch work 80 hours

in a 2-week pay period.

But with their supervisor’s approval, APHIS employees at sites with

alternative work schedules can arrange their

schedules to help meet personal and family

obligations more smoothly. Alternative work

schedules let you drop the children off at school

on certain mornings or make time for recurring

appointments with the orthodontist. If every other

Friday is your day to share teacher’s-aide responsibilities with the other parents in your son’s

class, you can build a regular day off into your

schedule. If your duties are portable, you may

even be allowed to work at home, as discussed in

the Flexiplace section of this booklet.

APHIS also offers several part-time options so

that we can attract and keep good employees.

Some part-time employees have substantial

dependent-care responsibilities and want to pursue career enhancement. Others need to work

less than a full-time schedule for a variety of reasons, including age or disability.

Alternative Work

Schedules

Relevant statutory requirements and other

guidance: 5 U.S.C. 6120–6133; 5 CFR part 610,

subpart D; Supervisor’s Desk Guide, subchapter 4610, “Tours of Duty,” August 1992.

In many work environments, workers typically

come in and leave at the same times every day

and work Monday through Friday. However,

wherever possible, APHIS permits flexible work

schedules. At many locations, employees have

adopted tours of duty using flexitime, compressed, or maxiflex schedules. (Due to scheduling demands at import and export facilities, only

compressed schedules are currently offered at

these locations.) 

In some locations, the APHIS office workday

begins as early as 6 a.m. and ends as late as 

6 p.m. Full-time employees must be on duty during the agency’s core hours, from 9 a.m. to 

3 p.m. Supervisors and employees cooperatively

determine the schedule an employee will use.

Likewise, self-directed work teams and their

coaches cooperatively decide on the schedule 

or schedules to be used by the team. 

If you have put yourself on an exercise program,

you may be able to set up a schedule that allows

for a 2-hour break over the lunch period so you

can do your workout and shower afterwards. Or

if you are the parent who has to get your children to daycare, you may be able to arrange your

starting or ending times around the daycare

provider’s requirements.

7

SCHEDULING

OPTIONS

M
Under compressed work schedules, which are

available to many full-time APHIS employees,

workers, work teams, and supervisors can agree

on a schedule in which workers complete their

80-hour biweekly work requirements in less than

10 workdays.

Let’s say that you need to visit your mother at her

nursing home at least twice a month. By working

eight 9-hour days plus one 8-hour day in a pay

period, you could arrange to have a preset Monday or Friday off every other week without taking

annual leave. A schedule like this also helps you

save leave that might otherwise have to be used

for preplanned medical or other appointments.

Flexiplace

Relevant statutory requirements and other

guidance: Guidelines for Pilot Flexible Workplace Arrangements, January 1990; Memorandum for Personnel Directors, October 21,

1993, from Lorraine Green, Deputy Director,

Office of Personnel Management (OPM); OPM

publication, “The Federal Flexible Workplace

Pilot Project Work-at-Home Component,”

January 1993.

Because many kinds of jobs can be performed

outside the traditional office setting, APHIS has

adopted a flexiplace program. Workers in this

program trade their daily drive for their disk

drive. 

The Human Resources Division for Marketing

and Regulatory Programs manages the flexiplace

program. Under this program, field and headquarters employees may perform their duties at

home or at local satellite offices up to 3 days per

week.

While working at home is not a substitute for

daycare, it does provide parents increased flexibility in managing the care of their children or

other dependent family members. Flexiplace also

helps employees pursue educational opportunities or phase into retirement.

Part-Time Employment

Relevant statutory requirements and other

guidance (Part-Time Employment and Job

Sharing): 5 U.S.C. 3401–3408; 5 CFR part 340,

subparts A and B; OPM publication, “Job Sharing for Federal Employees,” October 1990.

APHIS management understands that personal

situations and family obligations make it impossible for some employees to work a conventional

40-hour week. So we offer several kinds of parttime scheduling options.

In passing the Federal Employees Part-Time

Career Employment Act of 1978 (Public Law

95–437), Congress held that part-time career

(permanent) employment benefits the Government by providing an alternative for those who

require or prefer shorter hours. Generally, parttime employees work 16 to 32 hours per week

(or up to 64 hours per pay period). These workers are eligible for health and life-insurance benefits.

Some APHIS employees utilize part-time employment to facilitate returning to work following

childbirth or to help recover from an accident or

illness. Also, APHIS believes that making parttime jobs available enhances our ability to ensure

that older people and those with disabilities are

proportionately represented in our workforce.

Job Sharing

Job sharing is a form of part-time employment in

which the tours of duty of two (or more)

employees are arranged so they can perform the

duties of one full-time position. For instance, we

might hire one typist to work mornings only and

another to complete that job-sharing assignment

by working solely in the afternoons. Or we might

select one program analyst who wanted to work

Mondays and Tuesdays only and pair that individual with another analyst who could commit to

Wednesdays through Fridays.

Individuals may be attracted to job sharing

because it allows increased flexibility to balance

family responsibilities, pursue educational

opportunities, phase into retirement, care for

elderly parents or ill family members, or reenter

the workforce.

Each job sharer may work up to 32 hours per

week. Job sharers may also cover each other’s

absences and thereby reduce their use of sick

and annual leave.

Because job sharing is a form of part-time

employment, workers are eligible for health and

life insurance benefits.

8
9
10
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p references for the adoption agency

help pop with roofing oc

t n ar ctors

plan the vip tour of the lab

make the root-canal appointment

RESCHEDULE WORK MEETING FOR PARENT-TEACH RE

F NOC RE NE CE

ull-time Federal employees in the executive branch earn 4 hours of sick leave

every 2-week pay period and from 4 to 

8 hours of annual leave every pay period,

depending on how long they have been

employed by the Government. Traditionally,

employees used sick leave to cover absences from

work due to illness, recuperation following childbirth, and medical and dental appointments.

Workers used annual leave to cover absences due

to vacations, the illnesses of family members, and

nonmedical appointments.

But in 1986, OPM issued guidance urging Federal

agencies to be as flexible as possible in granting

leave to employees with dependent-care responsibilities, and in 1993 and 1994, legislation extended the use of leave for more dependent-care

issues. These changes provide clear evidence that

the Government supports flexible conditions and

personnel policies that help you balance the

demands of your professional and personal life.

APHIS encourages its supervisors and work

teams to make every attempt to help employees

strike a balance between these competing needs.

Employees who have exhausted their available

leave for care of family members may, depending

on the circumstances involved, use a combination of accrued annual leave, advanced annual

leave, and leave without pay to take time off to

handle parental and family responsibilities, such

as childbirth, adoption, or the care of sick children. 

Supervisors and employees should refer to the

Supervisor’s Desk Guide for more detailed information.

Absence for 

Childbirth

Relevant statutory requirements (Absence for

Childbirth, Absence for Children’s Needs, Caring for Family Members and Bereavement):

5 U.S.C. 6307(d); 5 CFR part 630, subparts 

D and E; Supervisor’s Desk Guide, subchapter

4630, “Absence and Leave.”

The Federal Government provides sick leave to a

mother for childbirth based on certification of a

medical care provider. A male employee may

request authorization to use annual leave to care

for the mother of his newborn child while she is

incapacitated for maternity reasons. In addition,

full-time male employees may use up to 40 hours

of sick leave for this purpose; those having a sick

leave balance of at least 80 hours of sick leave

may use up to 104 hours of sick leave. Either

parent may request to use leave without pay as

described in the Family and Medical Leave section of this brochure.

11

LEAVE POLICIES

F
Leave for Adoption

Relevant statutory requirements (Leave for

Adoption and Administrative Leave [bone

marrow or organ donations]):5 U.S.C. 6307

and 6327; 5 CFR part 630, subpart D; Supervisor’s Desk Guide, subchapter 4630, “Absence

and Leave,” June 1994.

Federal employees may use sick leave for purposes of adopting a child. Since procedures and

processes vary from State to State and adoption

agency to adoption agency, the amount of sick

leave granted may vary from person to person. If

you used annual leave for adoption purposes

during the period of October 1, 1991, to September 30, 1994, you may request that your used

annual leave be replaced with used sick leave.

These requests must be made by September 30,

1996.

See the Family and Medical Leave section of this

booklet for information about using leave without

pay for adoption purposes.

Absence for Children’s

Needs

We understand that all parents have to miss work

from time to time because of their children. Your

daughter has the starring role in the class play,

which is being staged only once—at 10 a.m. on

a Wednesday. Your twins’ school suddenly

decides to shut down for all of Easter week

because it didn’t use all its planned snow days.

Your child care arrangements for your infant son

break down because your babysitter is sick with

the flu.

You may request to use accrued annual leave or

leave without pay to cover such absences. Or

with your work team or supervisor’s concurrence, you may be able to alter your usual work

schedule to accommodate such events. 

Bereavement and 

Caring for Family

Members

We recognize that there will be times when

employees need time off to attend to the medical

needs of a family member or following the death

of a loved one. All full-time employees may use

up to 40 hours of sick leave each year to take

care of sick or injured family members, to take

family members to medical appointments, or for

bereavement. In addition, employees who maintain a balance of at least 80 hours of sick leave

may use an additional 64 hours a year (for a

total of 13 workdays) for these purposes. Additionally, annual leave and flexible schedules may

12
be used to cover such absences, provided the

supervisor agrees. Leave without pay may be used

as described in the next section.

Family and Medical

Leave

Relevant statutory requirements and other

guidance: 5 U.S.C. 6381–6387; 5 CFR part 630,

subpart L; Supervisor’s Desk Guide, subchapter

4630, “Absence and Leave.”

In addition to the leave options described above,

the Family and Medical Leave Act entitles all Federal employees up to 12 weeks of leave without

pay to care for a newborn, adopted child, seriously ill or injured family member, or oneself, if

ill or injured. 

An employee may request to use available annual

leave for all or part of the time used under the

Family and Medical Leave Act, but use of annual

leave is not required. Sick leave can be used only

as already defined. The use of available leave

does not extend the 12-week period.

Additionally, with supervisory concurrence, an

employee may use leave under the Family and

Medical Leave Act intermittently—for example,

10 hours a week for as long as rehabilitation and

care is needed to recover from an illness or

injury. The intermittent leave may not exceed the

12 weeks allowed in a 12-month period. Employees are encouraged to request leave 30 days

before it is needed or as soon as possible.

Leave-Transfer 

Program

Relevant statutory requirements and other

guidance: 5 U.S.C. 6331–6373; 5 CFR part 630,

subparts I and J; “Report to Congress on FirstYear Operations Under the Federal Employees

Leave Sharing Act of 1988,” October 31, 1990;

Supervisor’s Desk Guide, subchapter 4630,

“Absence and Leave.”

Serious illnesses strike employees without regard

to how much annual or sick leave they have been

able to accumulate. To ease the emotional and

financial burdens these emergencies generate,

APHIS has set up a leave-transfer program. Once

the agency approves an employee’s request for

leave donations, coworkers can voluntarily transfer some of their annual leave to the qualifying

employee. We believe both donors and recipients

benefit from a program that encourages mutual

assistance among fellow workers.

The leave-transfer program has some restrictions. Only accrued annual leave can be donated,

and recipients cannot be declared eligible until

they have exhausted all of their own annual and

sick leave. 

For details about how to apply for the leavetransfer program, contact your servicing personnel office.

Time-Off Incentive

Awards

Employees who are frequently called on to meet

their children’s needs or provide assistance to

their spouse, parents, or other adult family member need all the leave they can possibly get.

Sometimes extra leave is more valuable to an

employee than a cash award. APHIS and other

Federal agencies may grant time off—without

loss of pay or charge to leave already accrued—

to employees for their efforts, accomplishments,

or achievements that enhance the mission of the

agency or contribute to the quality, efficiency, or

economy of Government operations.

A time-off award does not convert to cash under

any circumstances. One to 5 days off, with a maximum of 80 hours per year, can be awarded to a

full-time employee, and smaller amounts of time

off can be awarded to part-time employees. This

leave must be used within 1 year of when it is

awarded. The days and hours that the employee

will be off must be coordinated with the supervisor.

Here are four examples of accomplishments and

achievements that could be rewarded with time

off:

• Ensuring that work or the agency’s mission is

accomplished during a difficult period by completing additional work or project assignments

while maintaining your own workload,

• Making a high-quality contribution to a difficult or important project or assignment,

• Displaying special initiative and skill in completing a project or assignment before the deadline, and

• Using initiative and creativity in making

improvements in a product, activity, program, or

service.

Administrative Leave

Federal employees who donate organs or bone

marrow are entitled to up to 7 days of administrative leave. An employee can request additional

sick or annual leave, if medically needed and

approved by a supervisor.

USDA employees can use up to 2 hours a week of

administrative leave, if approved by their supervisor, to mentor or tutor at schools sponsored by

the Department. Two hours of administrative

leave per week can also be approved for Department employees who are involved in any startup

group, organizing committee, or board of directors of a federally sponsored on- or near-site

child care center.

13
14
schedule the collective-bargaining talks

apply for feea scholarship

get new plates for the station wagon

TAKE CUB SCOUT DEN ON CAMP O- UT

interview secretaries & make selection

sonal health-related problems that might affect

work performance or employee well-being. In

addition to substance-abuse issues, counseling

could address problems related to marital, legal,

financial, or emotional difficulties.

APHIS established its EAP to provide no-cost confidential counseling and referral services to

workers who have problems that might adversely

affect their performance, attendance, or conduct

in the workplace. While this program is not a

substitute for long-term therapy, sessions with an

EAP counselor can help employees come to grips

with the issues that threaten the stability of their

work and family life. If you are a field employee

and need a telephone number to contact an EAP

counselor, call (612) 370-2117. Headquarters

employees should call (301) 734-5991.

APHIS also believes that an ounce of prevention

is worth a pound of cure. When and where possible, the agency schedules presentations on family

problems and wellness issues for supervisors and

employees. 

Family Resource 

Service

Finding quality child care or caring for an older

family member can be the source of many

headaches for employees. To help deal with these

and similar issues, APHIS offers the Family

Resource Service, a consultation and referral service on dependent and family care. This service

is open to APHIS employees in the 50 States,

Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands and

also to APHIS Foreign Service employees in 

Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean

through dedicated lines.

Domestic employees can call 1-800-847-5437,

TDD 1-800-346-9188, free of charge, for help on

prenatal care, infants, toddlers, preschoolers,

15

OTHER 

ASSISTANCE

AVAILABLE

xactly what are APHIS’ responsibilities in

providing help for employees who experience personal or job-related problems

that affect their productivity? Is there any

way the Government or agency can help

you or your children foot the bill for college?

What will the agency do for you if you are selected for a promotion to a new job location? Can

APHIS assist your spouse in finding work after

your transfer? What if your office is relocated

causing staff functions to change? We are working hard to address employee concerns in all

areas of business and family life.

Employee Assistance

Program

Employee assistance programs (EAP) were initially introduced to help workers deal with alcohol and drug-abuse problems. Since then, EAP’s

have broadened to include confidential counseling and referral services to employees facing perE
school-age children, preteens and teenagers,

children in college, adult and elder care, relocating with your family, managing conflict in work

and family needs, and more. APHIS Foreign Service employees in the areas covered can call collect (215) 362–8900.

When you call the service, you will speak directly

with a counselor. In addition to counseling over

the phone, the counselors can provide educational materials or a list of community resources

and services. However, selection of any recommended services is a personal decision.

All calls to the Family Resource Service are confidential. You may talk with a counselor about any

number of issues as often as you wish. APHIS

pays for any assistance employees receive from

the Family Resource Service; you pay for the services of any provider you select.

WFL Supervisor’s 

Advisory Committee

How many employees have had a family or personal emergency that interfered with work? 

How many supervisors have had a productive

employee who is just not making it anymore

because of such a conflict? Supervisors and work

teams do not always know what options and flexibilities are available to help balance professional

and personal responsibilities. An employee may

have questions on how to approach a supervisor

in order to reach a win-win agreement. Supervisors and employees can call the WFL Supervisor’s

Advisory Committee (WFLSAC) at (301) 734-

4989 for help.

WFLSAC counselors can help supervisors retain

qualified employees by recommending ways to

balance competing professional and personal

needs and reduce the potential for conflict.

WFLSAC can help employees with conflicts

between their professional and personal lives by

suggesting ways to discuss their concerns with

their supervisor. 

Improved Insurance

Benefits

Recent changes in insurance benefits have kept

up with societal trends. For example, breast cancer is now the second leading cause of death

among women in the United States. As a result,

OPM has mandated that all insurance plans participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program provide coverage for high-dose

chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow

transplantations for the treatment of breast cancer, and certain other conditions, when deemed

medically appropriate.

Recent legislation has provided irrevocable

assignment of life insurance benefits. The law

provides a means of enforcing a court order

directing a spouse in a divorce settlement to continue carrying life insurance for the benefit of a

former spouse. Once the life insurance has been

irrevocably assigned, the enrollee can no longer

change beneficiaries.

Federal agencies are allowed to convert current

temporary employees to term-appointment

employees so they can receive benefits, including

eligibility for health insurance.

Health and Wellness

Physical fitness, smoking cessation, and balanced

and wholesome nutritional practices have been

shown to be effective in promoting longer,

healthier, and more productive lives. Internal

APHIS studies have shown decreased sick leave

usage and tardiness, lowered stress, and

increased morale and productivity among

employees taking part in wellness activities.

Through the APHIS Wellness Program, APHIS

encourages employees to participate in such

activities. Guidance on this program’s many

aspects can be found in Chapter 9 of the APHIS

Safety and Health Manual.

Due to professional and personal obligations,

many employees find it difficult to include fitness

activities into their lives. APHIS allows employees

to use flexitime to pursue personal fitness. The

Riverdale facility includes a fitness center. In

addition, as local funds and interest will allow,

APHIS supervisors may negotiate agreements with

local fitness centers for employee use.

Onsite or Near-Site

Child Care Centers

Statutory authority: Trible Amendment (1985),

40 U.S.C. 490(b); APHIS Directive 4230.1,

“Establishing Child Care Centers,” April 22,

1994.

A growing number of onsite or near-site child

care centers are operating in Federal space

under the auspices of the General Services

Administration (GSA). Although the care these

centers provide is not free, parents who use them

enjoy having access to quality care for their children nearby during the workday.

As of 1995, APHIS is participating in two federally sponsored child care centers, one in Ames,

IA, and the other in Riverdale, MD. Both of these

centers are provider operated under the direction of a nonprofit, private board of directors

with USDA covering the rent and utilities. APHIS

can participate with other Federal employers,

through GSA, in privately sponsored child care

centers. Written guidance on how to establish a

child care center is available from the WFL Specialist or any WFL Council member or Coordinator.

16
Breastfeeding 

Campaign

Breastfeeding benefits more than the mother and

her child. Research in the private sector has

demonstrated that breastfeeding mothers return

to work earlier if they are able to continue

breastfeeding while working. Moreover, mother’s

milk reduces illness in babies so breastfeeding

mothers use less leave to care for sick infants.

The WFL Council has obtained lactation equipment for use in the field. Contact your WFL Coordinator for more information. Lactation

equipment that may be used by multiple users

(breastfeeding mothers purchase their own

accessories) is available through WFL Coordinators in Minneapolis, MN, Fort Collins, CO, Miami,

FL, Ames, IA, and San Juan, PR. Single-user

equipment is available through the WFL Coordinators at field regional and sector offices. The

Women’s Advisory Committee offers multiuser

lactation equipment for headquarters at

Riverdale, MD. 

Child Support

This section is derived from text prepared and

disseminated by the U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support

Enforcement, Washington, DC 20447.

Executive Order 12953 requires the Federal Government to be a model employer in assisting with

the establishment and enforcement of child support. As a Federal employee, you have the same

rights and responsibilities under child support

laws as other parents.

If you need information about the Child Support

Enforcement (CSE) Program or how to establish

or enforce an order, contact your EAP or your

local CSE office. Check your telephone book for

the local social services agency listing or call the

State CSE agency for the telephone number of

your local office.

Federal personnel records are regularly crossmatched with records of persons who owe child

support. If you owe child support, keep your

payments current. A convenient way is to have

the payment withheld from your wages and automatically sent to the collecting authority. You can

obtain more information from the payroll office.

Educational 

Assistance Programs

No, neither APHIS nor any other Federal agency

can put you through school. But a nonprofit corporation supported by the contributions of Federal employees can provide substantial financial

assistance to Federal employees and their children, spouses, and survivors.

The Federal Employee Education and Assistance

(FEEA) program awards educational scholarships and grants ranging from $250 to $1,500 to

deserving Federal employees and to members of

their families to attend 2- or 4-year colleges or

schools granting graduate degrees. Recipients

win a scholarship on their merits. The selectors

consider academic achievement, extracurricular

or community-service activities, written recommendations, and the contents of an original

essay.

The FEEA educational loan program offers

employees another way to pay for college. The

program makes available loans from $2,000 to

$20,000 per year at relatively low interest rates

and with flexible repayment schedules. An especially appealing feature of the program is the fact

that FEEA evaluates the applicant’s creditworthiness, not family income, in deciding who should

receive loans.

17
For scholarship and student-loan information,

send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to FEEA,

Suite 200, 8441 West Bowles Avenue, Littleton,

CO 80123. 

FEEA also administers the awarding of emergency

grants and loans to Federal employees faced with

a variety of emergencies such as natural disasters, unforeseen illnesses, and accidents. For

information about this program and an emergency-assistance application, call FEEA toll free at

(800) 323-4140.

When You Move at

Our Request

Although there are exceptions, Federal agencies

generally do not pay the cost of moving employees to their first duty station. But after that, when

your job change is “for the benefit of the U.S.

Government,” APHIS offers an extensive array of

financial assistance to help you get to—and get

set up in—your new location.

We reimburse you for real-estate-related costs in

selling your old residence and buying your new

one (or getting out of your lease if you are renting). We cover the costs of sending you on a

househunting trip and moving your possessions.

We pay the travel costs to get you and your family

to your new duty station and give you time off to

handle the move itself. (APHIS employees serving

abroad receive different benefits. For more particulars on their employment benefits, see the

section entitled “Would You Like To Work

Abroad?”)

Many of APHIS’ best career jobs are located in

high-cost areas. We recognize that moving to

such an area can be a threatening prospect. So

APHIS set up the Employee Relocation Assistance

Program for one high-cost area, metropolitan

Washington, DC. This program helps individuals

hired at or transferred to headquarters in making

the transition to the Nation’s Capital.

When a headquarters position is filled from outside the Washington, DC, area, the hiring office

with APHIS notifies Riverdale staff at (301) 734-

4949. The two offices then begin a collaborative

process designed to assist the new employee and

his or her dependents in relocating.

Now that most American families have two breadwinners, it is natural that job transfers for one

person can give that individual’s spouse a bad

case of career heartburn. APHIS’ Spousal

Employment Assistance Program is set up to help

the husband or wife of a newly arrived APHIS

headquarters employee locate suitable employment in the metro Washington area. Riverdale

staff manage this program, and the APHIS office

of the newly arrived employee provides financial

and logistical assistance as necessary.

The hiring office is responsible for notifying the

employee of the program’s availability, notifying

appropriate Riverdale staff each time an 

employee is to be transferred to the DC metropolitan area, permitting vacancies to be filled on

a temporary basis by a qualified spouse (not necessarily the spouse of an employee in that office),

and helping provide the spouse a network of

contacts for job-search assistance.

Riverdale staff members are responsible for providing the services related to reviewing vacancies,

preparing applications and supporting material,

applying and interviewing for vacancies, and

counseling the spouse on job-search and interview methods. In addition, after being notified

by the hiring office, that staff contacts each

employee prior to transfer to determine the

extent to which spousal placement services will

be required.

For more information on employee relocation

matters or the Spousal Employment Assistance

Program, call (301) 734-4949 or (800) 762-

2738.

18
arrange for furniture storage

revise our wills

duplicate the new keys for the kids

finish the status-of-funds report by cob

prepare travel vouchers

Although the vast majority of APHIS’

positions are located in the United

States, about 100 of our people

work in foreign countries.

These workers are agency

employees and members of the Foreign Service.

They work in entomology, plant protection and

quarantine, veterinary medicine, and administration, among other occupations. 

Foreign Service employees enjoy all of the work

options described earlier in this brochure except

for flexiplace, part-time employment, and job

sharing. Incumbents in some Foreign Service

positions can work under flexible and compressed schedules. When Foreign Service

employees are working in the United States on a

domestic rotation, they can make use of APHIS’

and USDA’s Employee Assistance Programs and

child care centers as well.

Coping with personal and community crises

while serving overseas requires a strong support

system. The State Department created a Family

Liaison Office to help all employees working in

U.S. embassies and consulates overseas. This

office directly serves individuals in Washington,

DC, and—through its 154 Community Liaison

Offices—those working at missions abroad. The

Community Liaison Offices work to maintain high

morale in the Foreign Service community, primarily through orientation activities, cultural and

recreational programs, counseling and referral,

and assistance with security, education, and family member employment. To help the spouses of

members of the Foreign Service find local

employment, the Family Liaison Office maintains

a computerized data base listing participants’ job

skills, experience, and training. Employment

counseling and workshops are also available 

to Foreign Service spouses. In addition, the

Employee Consultation Service, part of the State

Department’s Office of Medical Services, provides

free confidential counseling for individuals and

families anticipating, or returning from, an overseas assignment or actually serving overseas. The

Overseas Briefing Center in the Foreign Service

Institute offers courses to assist those going overseas, and its “briefing boxes” contain extensive

post-specific information.

Many of APHIS’ Foreign Service positions are

filled from a roster of eligible individuals. To find

out more about getting onto a roster for jobs in

your particular skills area, contact APHIS at

(301) 734-4906.

19

WOULD YOU

LIKE TO WORK

ABROAD?

A
20
he following is an excerpt from “A

Report to the President, Balancing

Work and Family Demands: The

Federal Response,” issued by

OPM, January 1995.

As a nation competing in a global market, it is

important that Americans be the best educated,

trained, and motivated workers in the world. But

employees are distinct individuals bringing to the

workplace special skills, viewpoints, and experiences. Their lives are shaped by experiences at

work and at home. The two existences are not

separate and removed from one another. It is

critical for employers to recognize that their

employees are mothers, fathers, spouses, brothers, sisters, grandparents, and friends with

responsibilities, problems, and concerns that

reach beyond the workplace.

The Federal Government has long acknowledged

the importance of employer involvement in maintaining strong, healthy American families. As the

largest employer in the United States, the Government strives to help its employees achieve a balance between the challenges of work and home

life. President Clinton has often spoken of the

importance of balancing work and family

demands as they relate to productivity, effectiveness, and personal satisfaction and happiness.

The Administration, with recommendations from

the National Performance Review (NPR), has

championed increased Government support of

Federal employees and their families. Without

such support, retention and recruitment of

skilled and talented workers will be difficult. In

addition, the NPR draws a correlation between

employee productivity and strong work and family programs. 

OPM REPORT

T
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis

of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age,

disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial

status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require

alternative means for communication of program

information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.)

should contact the USDA Office of Communications at (202) 720–2791.

To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC, 20250, or call (202) 720–7327 (voice)

or (202) 720–1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal

employment opportunity employer.

Issued July 1992

Revised December 1995
United States 

Department of

Agriculture

Animal and

Plant Health

Inspection

Service

Miscellaneous

Publication 

No. 1498