59–006 

114TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 114–520 

ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE REFORM ACT 

APRIL 25, 2016.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. CHAFFETZ, from the Committee on Oversight and Government 

Reform, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 4359] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to whom 

was referred the bill (H.R. 4359) to amend title 5, United States 

Code, to provide that Federal employees may not be placed on administrative leave for more than 14 days during any year for misconduct or poor performance, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and 

recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Committee Statement and Views ........................................................................... 3 

Section-by-Section .................................................................................................... 5 

Explanation of Amendments ................................................................................... 6 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 6 

Roll Call Votes ......................................................................................................... 6 

Application of Law to the Legislative Branch ....................................................... 6 

Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee ...... 6 

Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives .................................... 6 

Duplication of Federal Programs ............................................................................ 7 

Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings ..................................................................... 7 

Federal Advisory Committee Act ............................................................................ 7 

Unfunded Mandate Statement ............................................................................... 7 

Earmark Identification ............................................................................................ 7 

Committee Estimate ................................................................................................ 7 

Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .................... 7 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 8 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 


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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Administrative Leave Reform Act’’. 

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code, is 

amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘§ 6330. Limitation on administrative leave 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—During any calendar year, an employee may not be placed on 

administrative leave, or any other paid non-duty status without charge to leave, for 

more than 14 total days for reasons relating to misconduct or performance. After 

an employee has been placed on administrative leave for 14 days, the employing 

agency shall return the employee to duty status, utilizing telework if available, and 

assign the employee to duties if such employee is not a threat to safety, the agency 

mission, or Government property. 

‘‘(b) EXTENDED ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an agency head determines that an employee is a threat 

to safety, the agency mission, or Government property and upon the expiration 

of the 14-day period described in subsection (a), an agency head may place the 

employee on extended administrative leave for additional periods of not more 

than 30 days each. 

‘‘(2) REPORT.—For any additional period of 30 days granted to the employee 

after the initial 30-day extension, the agency head shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in the House of Representatives, 

the agency’s authorizing committees of jurisdiction of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report, not later than 5 business days after 

granting the additional period, containing— 

‘‘(A) the name, title, position, office or agency subcomponent, job series, 

pay grade, and salary of the employee on administrative leave; 

‘‘(B) a description of the work duties of the employee; 

‘‘(C) the reason the employee is on administrative leave; 

‘‘(D) an explanation as to why the employee is a threat to safety, the 

agency mission, or Government property; 

‘‘(E) an explanation as to why the employee is not able to telework or be 

reassigned to another position within the agency; 

‘‘(F) in the case of a pending related investigation of the employee— 

‘‘(i) the status of such investigation; and 

‘‘(ii) the certification described in subsection (c)(1); and 

‘‘(G) in the case of a completed related investigation of the employee— 

‘‘(i) the results of such investigation; and 

‘‘(ii) the reason that the employee remains on administrative leave. 

‘‘(c) EXTENSION PENDING RELATED INVESTIGATION.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an employee is under a related investigation by an investigative entity at the time an additional period described under subsection (b)(2) 

is granted and, in the opinion of the investigative entity, additional time is 

needed to complete the investigation, such entity shall certify to the applicable 

agency that such additional time is needed and include in the certification an 

estimate of the length of such additional time. 

‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The head of an agency may not grant an additional period 

of administrative leave described under subsection (b)(2) to an employee on or 

after the date that is 30 days after the completion of a related investigation by 

an investigative entity. 

‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following definitions apply: 

‘‘(1) INVESTIGATIVE ENTITY.—The term ‘investigative entity’ means an internal 

investigative unit of the agency granting administrative leave, the Office of Inspector General, the Office of the Attorney General, or the Office of Special 

Counsel. 

‘‘(2) RELATED INVESTIGATION.—The term ‘related investigation’ means an investigation that pertains to the underlying reasons an employee was placed on 

administrative leave.’’. 

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall begin to apply 

90 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in the amendment made by subsection (a) 

shall be construed to— 

(1) supersede the provisions of chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code; or 

(2) limit the number of days that an employee may be placed on administrative leave, or any other paid non-duty status without charge to leave, for reasons unrelated to misconduct or performance. 


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1Office of Personnel Mgmt., Pay & Leave, available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/administrative-leave/ (last visited March 9, 

2016). 2 Id. OPM references 5 U.S.C. 301–302 in particular. 

(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for subchapter II of chapter 63 

of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding after the item relating to section 6329 the following new item: 

‘‘6330. Limitation on administrative leave.’’. 

COMMITTEE STATEMENT AND VIEWS

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 4359, the Administrative Leave Reform Act brings accountability to the administrative leave process within Executive branch 

agencies. Currently, there is little uniformity across the federal 

government in how administrative leave is used. This legislation 

creates a standard process for the use of administrative leave in 

cases of misconduct and poor performance, which will help curb the 

overuse of administrative leave within the federal government. 

In general, the legislation creates a 14-day cap on administrative 

leave when employees are being placed on administrative leave for 

reasons related to misconduct or poor performance, except under 

certain circumstances. 

In these exceptional circumstances, the legislation permits agencies to make 30-day extensions of administrative leave beyond the 

14-day limit. For each extension that an agency makes beyond the 

initial 30-day extension, the agency must provide a report to the 

appropriate congressional committees containing details about the 

individual, including name, title, position, salary, and duties, an 

explanation for why the individual is on administrative leave, why 

the individual could not telework or be reassigned, and the status 

of any pending investigation. Further, the entity conducting the investigation must certify within the report that the investigation is 

ongoing and requires additional time. Additionally, no individual 

will be eligible for additional extensions of administrative leave 

more than 30 days after the completion of the last investigation 

into the individual. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) defines administrative leave, or an excused absence, as ‘‘an administratively authorized absence from duty without loss of pay or charge to leave.’’ 1

OPM further notes that ‘‘[a]lthough administrative leave is not expressly referenced in title 5, the authority to grant an excused absence derives from the inherent authority for heads of agencies to 

prescribe regulations for the government of their organizations.’’ 2

While OPM offers some guidance and examples for the use of administrative leave, there is no defining statute or regulation clearly 

delineating the proper use of administrative leave. This has resulted in varying policies across agencies. 

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlighted the inconsistent use of administrative leave across the federal government in a 2014 report. GAO found, ‘‘agency policies and guidance 

contained several common activities for granting paid administraVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Apr 26, 2016 Jkt 006602 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR520.XXX HR520

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3Gov’t Accountability Office, Federal Paid Administrative Leave (October 2014) (GAO–15–79). 4Office of Personnel Mgmt., Pay & Leave, available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/administrative-leave/ (last visited March 9, 

2016). 5 Id. 6Gov’t Accountability Office, Federal Paid Administrative Leave (October 2014) (GAO–15–79). 7 Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Inspector General, FYI 2015 EPA Management Challenges (May 28, 2014) (15–N–0164). 8Lisa Rein, Embattled National Archives IG to Retire after Probe Finds Misconduct, WASH. 

POST, Aug. 4, 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2014/08/04/embattled-national-archives-ig-to-retire-after-probe-finds-misconduct/. 

tive leave . . . However, variations exist, depending on agency mission and how leave is categorized in agency policy.’’ 3

OPM’s recent guidance makes clear that administrative leave is 

not intended to be a permanent solution in cases of performance 

and misconduct issues. Rather, administrative leave should be a 

temporary measure for agencies to utilize in limited, brief circumstances. When administrative leave is used in relation to poor 

performance or misconduct prior to an adverse action, OPM advises 

that: ‘‘[w]here absences are for longer than brief periods, administrative leave is generally inappropriate.’’ 4 OPM’s guidance also 

notes that when placing employees on administrative leave for misconduct or performance issues prior to taking adverse action, ‘‘[a]n 

agency should monitor the situation and move towards longer-term 

actions when it is possible, appropriate, and prudent to do so.’’ 5

Despite these intentions, GAO found that some agencies have 

placed employees on administrative leave for more than a year. In 

its 2014 report, GAO found that 263 employees within the federal 

government were on administrative leave between one and three 

years during the 2011–2013 period. The report also indicates that 

538 people were on administrative leave for nine months or more. 

GAO’s report provides further details of agency use of administrative leave. 6 GAO also found that the most common reason that 

agencies used large amounts of administrative leave was for personnel matters, such as investigations of alleged misconduct or 

criminal actions. 

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has investigated instances where agencies have placed employees on administrative leave for extended periods of time. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency placed two employees on administrative leave for 1.5 years and 10 months, respectively, pending the 

completion of Inspector General and Department of Justice investigations, which found that the ‘‘employees spent approximately 1 

to 6 hours a day viewing and downloading pornography.’’ 7

In addition, the National Archives Inspector General was placed 

on administrative leave for over two years while allegations that he 

made sexually suggestive and racially offensive comments and altered audits were being investigated.8

While administrative leave offers agencies flexibility to address 

instances where there is a need for a short-term absence or to wait 

for the completion of an investigation by the Inspector General, it 

was never meant to be used as an option when agencies do not 

know how or are reluctant to take adverse action against employees. 

When agencies overuse administrative leave, it costs the American taxpayers. While in many cases, some use of administrative 

leave is necessary and appropriate, some agencies use administraVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Apr 26, 2016 Jkt 006602 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR520.XXX HR520

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tive leave to avoid dealing with hard problems, or to allow a problem to be swept under the rug. By allowing employees to remain 

on administrative leave indefinitely, agencies are effectively asking 

taxpayers to pay people not to work. The Committee believes that 

this is unacceptable. 

To address this problem, H.R. 4359 works to curb agency overuse 

of administrative leave. Specifically, the bill creates a clear statutory intent that administrative leave should not be a permanent 

duty status. Second, it requires agencies to almost immediately 

begin considering how to handle individuals placed on administrative leave. Third, it increases accountability within agencies by requiring agency heads to approve extensions of its use beyond 14 

days, and after 44 days, to certify to Congress the specific reason 

that an employee must remain on administrative leave. Fourth, it 

will prohibit the indefinite use of administrative leave. Under this 

bill, agencies can move forward with an indefinite number of extensions to allow for the completion of investigations into possible misconduct or performance problems. However, once those investigations are completed, agencies must take action to remove the employee from administrative leave in short order. 

Prior to House consideration, the Committee plans to make further refinements to the legislation based on comments received 

from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 4359, the Administrative Leave Reform Act, was introduced 

by Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R–UT) on January 11, 2016, and 

referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. 

On March 1, 2016, the Committee on Oversight and Government 

Reform ordered H.R. 4359 favorably reported, with an amendment 

offered by Congressman Stephen Lynch (D–MA), by voice vote. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION

Section 1. Short title 

Designates the short title of the legislation as the ‘‘Administrative Leave Reform Act.’’ 

Section 2. Limitation on administrative leave 

Amends title 5 of United States Code to require that an employee 

may not be placed on administrative leave, or other paid non-duty 

status without charging leave, for more than 14 total days for reasons relating to misconduct or performance. 

Provides the employing agency with the ability to extend an employee’s time on administrative leave for misconduct or poor performance in increments of 30 days. 

For each 30-day extension after the first 30-day extension, the 

agency must provide: a report to Congress that explains the reasons this employee remains on administrative leave; the reasons 

the employee cannot telework or be reassigned to another position; 

the status of any investigation regarding the employee with an estimate of the time needed to complete the investigation; and a description of the employee’s employment information and work responsibilities. 


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If the agency grants an extension of administrative leave (beyond 

an original 30-day extension) to accommodate the need for additional time to complete an investigation, then the investigating entity must certify that additional time is needed to complete the investigation. 

The agency head may not grant an additional period of administrative leave to an employee on or after the date that is 30 days 

after a completed investigation. 

Establishes that the bill will take effect 90 days after the date 

of enactment. 

This bill shall not be construed to supersede the provisions of 

chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code, or limit the number of 

days an employee may be placed on administrative leave, or other 

paid non-duty status without charge to leave, for reasons unrelated 

to misconduct or performance. 

EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS

During Full Committee consideration of the bill, Congressman 

Stephen Lynch (D–MA) offered an amendment in the nature of a 

substitute to the bill, which is reflected in the above section-by-section. The Lynch amendment was adopted by voice vote. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On March 1, 2016, the Committee met in open session and ordered reported favorably the bill, H.R. 4359, as amended, by voice 

vote, a quorum being present. 

ROLL CALL VOTES

No roll call votes were requested or conducted during Full Committee consideration of H.R. 4359. 

APPLICATION OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104–1 requires a description of 

the application of this bill to the legislative branch where the bill 

relates to the terms and conditions of employment or access to public services and accommodations. This bill amends title 5, United 

States Code, to provide that Federal employees may not be placed 

on administrative leave for more than 14 days during any year for 

misconduct or poor performance. As such, it does not relate to employment or access to public services and accommodations. 

STATEMENT OF OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF

THE COMMITTEE

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause (2)(b)(1) 

of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee’s oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the 

descriptive portions of this report. 

STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee’s performance goal or objective of the bill is to amend title 5, United States Code, to provide 

that Federal employees may not be placed on administrative leave 


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for more than 14 days during any year for misconduct or poor performance. 

DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

No provision of this bill establishes or reauthorizes a program of 

the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another Federal program, a program that was included in any report from the 

Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 

21 of Public Law 111–139, or a program related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 

DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTED RULE MAKINGS

The Committee estimates that enacting this bill does not direct 

the completion of any specific rule makings within the meaning of 

5 U.S.C. 551. However, the Director of the Office of Management 

and Budget is directed to issue guidelines. 

FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT

The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish or 

authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within the 

definition of 5 U.S.C. App., Section 5(b). 

UNFUNDED MANDATE STATEMENT

Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, P.L. 104–4) requires a statement as to whether 

the provisions of the reported include unfunded mandates. In compliance with this requirement the Committee has received a letter 

from the Congressional Budget Office included herein. 

EARMARK IDENTIFICATION

This bill does not include any congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9 of rule 

XXI. 

COMMITTEE ESTIMATE

Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out this bill. 

However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report 

a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

BUDGET AUTHORITY AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST

ESTIMATE

With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect to requirements 

of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the 


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Committee has received the following cost estimate for this bill 

from the Director of Congressional Budget Office: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, March 24, 2016. 

Hon. JASON CHAFFETZ, 

Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4359, the Administrative 

Leave Reform Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Dan Ready. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 4359—Administrative Leave Reform Act 

H.R. 4359 would limit to 14 days the amount of time an agency 

could place an employee on administrative leave while investigating employee misconduct or performance. Extensions to the 14- 

day period would be allowable under H.R. 4359, but agencies granting such extensions would have to submit a report to certain Congressional committees detailing their rationale. 

The limitation on the length of administrative leave would not 

change the amount agencies pay to employees under investigation 

and CBO does not expect the number of reports to Congressional 

committees or their costs to be significant. Therefore, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4359 would have no significant budgetary 

effect. 

Because enacting H.R. 4359 would not affect direct spending or 

revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates 

that enacting H.R. 4359 would not increase net direct spending or 

on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year period beginning in 2027. 

H.R. 4359 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Dan Ready. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Assistant Director for Budget 

Analysis. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is printed in italic 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE 

* * * * * * * 


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PART III—EMPLOYEES 

* * * * * * * 

SUBPART E—ATTENDANCE AND LEAVE 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 63—LEAVE 

SUBCHAPTER I—ANNUAL AND SICK LEAVE 

Sec. 

6301. Definitions. 

* * * * * * * 

SUBCHAPTER II—OTHER PAID LEAVE 

* * * * * * * 

6330. Limitation on administrative leave. 

* * * * * * * 

SUBCHAPTER II—OTHER PAID LEAVE 

* * * * * * * 

§ 6330. Limitation on administrative leave 

(a) IN GENERAL.—During any calendar year, an employee may 

not be placed on administrative leave, or any other paid non-duty 

status without charge to leave, for more than 14 total days for reasons relating to misconduct or performance. After an employee has 

been placed on administrative leave for 14 days, the employing 

agency shall return the employee to duty status, utilizing telework 

if available, and assign the employee to duties if such employee is 

not a threat to safety, the agency mission, or Government property. 

(b) EXTENDED ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—If an agency head determines that an employee is a threat to safety, the agency mission, or Government 

property and upon the expiration of the 14-day period described 

in subsection (a), an agency head may place the employee on extended administrative leave for additional periods of not more 

than 30 days each. 

(2) REPORT.—For any additional period of 30 days granted to 

the employee after the initial 30-day extension, the agency head 

shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government 

Reform in the House of Representatives, the agency’s authorizing committees of jurisdiction of the House of Representatives 

and the Senate, and the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report, not later than 5 

business days after granting the additional period, containing— 

(A) the name, title, position, office or agency subcomponent, job series, pay grade, and salary of the employee on 

administrative leave; 

(B) a description of the work duties of the employee; 

(C) the reason the employee is on administrative leave; 

(D) an explanation as to why the employee is a threat to 

safety, the agency mission, or Government property; 


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(E) an explanation as to why the employee is not able to 

telework or be reassigned to another position within the 

agency; 

(F) in the case of a pending related investigation of the 

employee— 

(i) the status of such investigation; and 

(ii) the certification described in subsection (c)(1); 

and 

(G) in the case of a completed related investigation of the 

employee— 

(i) the results of such investigation; and 

(ii) the reason that the employee remains on administrative leave. 

(c) EXTENSION PENDING RELATED INVESTIGATION.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—If an employee is under a related investigation by an investigative entity at the time an additional period 

described under subsection (b)(2) is granted and, in the opinion 

of the investigative entity, additional time is needed to complete 

the investigation, such entity shall certify to the applicable 

agency that such additional time is needed and include in the 

certification an estimate of the length of such additional time. 

(2) LIMITATION.—The head of an agency may not grant an 

additional period of administrative leave described under subsection (b)(2) to an employee on or after the date that is 30 days 

after the completion of a related investigation by an investigative entity. 

(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following definitions apply: 

(1) INVESTIGATIVE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘investigative entity’’ 

means an internal investigative unit of the agency granting administrative leave, the Office of Inspector General, the Office of 

the Attorney General, or the Office of Special Counsel. 

(2) RELATED INVESTIGATION.—The term ‘‘related investigation’’ means an investigation that pertains to the underlying 

reasons an employee was placed on administrative leave. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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