This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

6339

Vol. 65, No. 27

Wednesday, February 9, 2000

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL

MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 630

RIN 3206–AI76

Sick Leave for Family Care Purposes

AGENCY: Office of Personnel

Management.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel

Management is issuing proposed

regulations to expand the use of sick

leave for family care purposes. Under

the proposed regulations, an employee

would be able to use a total of up to 12

weeks of sick leave each year to care for

a family member with a serious health

condition. This benefit would broaden

the options available for employees to

meet their family responsibilities.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before March 27, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent or

delivered to Donald J. Winstead,

Assistant Director for Compensation

Administration, Office of Personnel

Management, Room 7H31, 1900 E Street

NW., Washington, DC 20415–8200, FAX

(202) 606–0824, or email to

payleave@opm.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo

Ann Perrini, (202) 606–2858, FAX (202)

606–0824, or email to

payleave@opm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May

24, 1999, President Clinton issued a

memorandum directing the Office of

Personnel Management (OPM) to

expand the use of paid sick leave for

family care purposes. Consistent with

the President’s goal of eliminating ‘‘a

significant barrier to caring for a family

member with a serious health

condition,’’ we are issuing proposed

regulations that would permit full-time

employees to use a total of up to 12

administrative workweeks of sick leave

each leave year to care for a family

member with a serious health condition.

Current regulations permit Federal

employees to use a maximum of 13 days

of sick leave each leave year to care for

a family member who is incapacitated

or to make arrangements for or attend

the funeral of a family member. Federal

employees and agencies have expressed

full support for the use of sick leave for

family care or bereavement purposes.

Federal agencies believe the program

fosters goodwill and creates a more

compassionate, family-friendly work

environment, resulting in a more

productive workforce that enables the

Government to accomplish its mission.

However, because of the 13-day

limitation, many employees face

extended periods of leave without pay

when caring for a family member after

they have exhausted their entitlement to

use annual and sick leave. In a survey

for our 1997 report to Congress on the

use of sick leave for family care

purposes, OPM found there was concern

that the 13-day limitation was

inadequate for employees affected by

long-term, catastrophic illnesses of

family members.

Under the proposed regulations,

mothers and fathers caring for their

children, grandparents who are raising

their grandchildren, and employees

caring for other family members,

including mothers- and fathers-in-law,

would all greatly benefit from the more

generous leave entitlement. The new

benefit also would address the

dilemmas faced by parents of children

with special needs when trying to

balance their work and family

responsibilities. Allowing an employee

to use up to 12 weeks of his or her own

accrued sick leave each year would

reduce the need for extended periods of

leave without pay, which has a negative

effect on an employee’s pay and

benefits, such as within-grade increases

and health benefits. As a result,

employees would be better able to deal

with the financial and personal strain

caused by a family member’s medical

needs.

Under the proposed regulations, the

term ‘‘serious health condition’’ would

have the same meaning as found in

OPM’s regulations at 5 CFR 630.1202 for

administering the Family and Medical

Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). That

definition includes such conditions as

cancer, heart attacks, strokes, severe

injuries, Alzheimer’s disease,

pregnancy, and childbirth. The term

‘‘family member’’ would have the same

meaning as found in OPM’s regulations

at 5 CFR 630.201, which includes the

following relatives of the employee: (a)

Spouse and parents thereof; (b)

children, including adopted children,

and spouses thereof; (c) parents; (d)

brothers and sisters, and spouses

thereof; and (e) any individual related

by blood or affinity whose close

association with the employee is the

equivalent of a family relationship.

Part-Time and Uncommon Tours

Under the proposed regulations, the

entitlement to use sick leave to care for

a family member with a serious health

condition would be prorated for parttime employees or employees with an

uncommon tour of duty. For those

employees, the amount of sick leave

available to care for a family member

with a serious health condition would

be equal to 12 times the average number

of hours in the employee’s regularly

scheduled administrative workweek.

Requesting and Approving Sick Leave

for Family Care Purposes

Employees who wish to use more

than 13 days of sick leave in a leave year

to care for a family member with a

serious health condition would be

subject to the requirements in 5 CFR

630.402 for requesting sick leave. To the

extent possible, employees would be

required to request advance approval for

sick leave to provide care for a family

member with a serious health condition.

In addition, employees would be subject

to the requirements in 5 CFR 630.403 for

providing administratively acceptable

evidence or medical certification of a

serious health condition. Most agencies

have established procedures for

requesting and approving sick leave,

and employees would continue to

follow these procedures when

requesting sick leave for family care

purposes.

In addition, we are proposing to

revise 5 CFR 630.403 to permit agencies

to establish a uniformly applied policy

that requires employees to provide

administratively acceptable evidence or

medical certification for a request for

sick leave within a specified time

period. An employee who does not

provide the required evidence or

medical certification within the

specified time period would not be

entitled to sick leave.

6340 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2000 / Proposed Rules

Relationship to Other Family-Friendly

Leave Programs

An employee would continue to be

entitled to a total of up to 12 workweeks

of unpaid leave under the FMLA for

certain family and medical needs.

Therefore, an employee would be

permitted to substitute up to12 weeks of

sick leave for unpaid leave under the

FMLA if he or she is caring for a spouse,

son or daughter, or parent with a serious

health condition.

Employees would continue to be

entitled to use a total of up to 13 days

of sick leave each leave year to (1)

provide care for a family member as a

result of physical or mental illness;

injury; pregnancy; childbirth; or

medical, dental, or optical examination

or treatment; or (2) make arrangements

necessitated by the death of a family

member or attend the funeral of a family

member, subject to the requirements

and limitations in 5 CFR 630.401. The

proposed regulations simply extend the

period during which sick leave may be

used to care for a family member with

a serious health condition. Under the

proposed regulations, however, any

portion of the 13 days of sick leave

previously used in a leave year for

general family care purposes would be

subtracted from the new entitlement to

use a total of up to 12 weeks of sick

leave to care for a family member with

a serious health condition.

Example 1: An employee uses 13 days

(104 hours) of sick leave for family care

purposes early in the leave year (leave

year 1). On April 1, the employee

requests additional sick leave to care for

a mother-in-law with a serious health

condition. Since the employee has

already used the 13-day (104-hour)

entitlement to sick leave to care for a

family member under § 630.401(a)(3)(i),

she may use only 9 weeks and 2 days

(376 hours) of sick leave in the same

leave year to care for a family member

with a serious health condition. As of

the beginning of the next leave year

(leave year 2), the employee has a new

entitlement to use up to 13 days of sick

leave for family care or bereavement

purposes and a new entitlement to use

up to 480 hours of sick leave to care for

a family member with a serious health

condition.

Example 2: An employee used 3 days

(24 hours) of sick leave to attend the

funeral of her grandmother in January.

The employee then requested an

additional 4 weeks (160 hours) of sick

leave to care for her grandfather, who

had pneumonia, a serious health

condition. The employee has used 184

hours of sick leave for all family care

purposes. She has a remaining

entitlement to 10 days (80 hours) of sick

leave for general family care purposes or

up to 7 weeks and 2 days (296 hours)

of sick leave to care for a family member

with a serious health condition.

An employee would continue to be

responsible for notifying the employing

agency as to whether he or she is

requesting sick leave for family care or

bereavement purposes or to care for a

family member with a serious health

condition. The employing agency would

continue to be responsible for

maintaining a record of each employee’s

use of sick leave for all family care or

bereavement purposes, as required by 5

CFR 630.408.

Employees who exhaust their

available sick and annual leave as a

result of caring for a family member may

request donated annual leave under the

voluntary leave transfer or leave bank

programs. However, an employee’s

expanded entitlement to use 12 weeks

of sick leave under the proposed

regulations would have to be considered

in determining his or her eligibility to

become a leave recipient under these

programs. Under the proposed

regulations, if an employee wishes to

become a leave recipient, and the

medical emergency involves a family

member, the employee would have to

use all sick leave available to him or her

under 5 CFR 630.401 for family care

purposes before qualifying for donated

annual leave.

Minimum Sick Leave Balance

A full-time employee is entitled to use

up to 5 days (40 hours) of his or her

accrued or accumulated sick leave (or in

the case of a part-time employee or an

employee on an uncommon tour of

duty, the number of days in his or her

regularly scheduled workweek) for

family care or bereavement purposes

without regard to his or her sick leave

balance. To use more than 5 days (40

hours) of sick leave to care for a family

member, up to a maximum of 13 days

(104 hours), an employee must maintain

a sick leave balance of at least 10 days

(80 hours) at all times. Under the

proposed regulations, if an employee

uses sick leave to care for a family

member with a serious health condition,

these same limitations would apply. In

summary, an employee may not use

more than 5 days (40 hours) of sick

leave for any family-care purpose,

unless he or she maintains a sick leave

balance of at least 10 days (80 hours)

(or, in the case of a part-time employee

or an employee with an uncommon tour

of duty, two times the number of days

in his or her regularly scheduled

workweek). Although an agency may

advance up to 40 hours of sick leave for

family care or bereavement purposes, an

agency may not advance sick leave to

fulfill the 80-hour requirement. In

addition, an agency may not advance

sick leave to allow an employee who

has a minimum of 80 hours of sick leave

in his or her account to use additional

sick leave for family care purposes.

Since the President directed OPM to

issue proposed regulations, we have

received numerous inquiries from

employees, agency officials, and other

interested parties who are experiencing

a family medical emergency and need

additional paid time off. To

accommodate the pressing need for this

benefit, we are shortening the normal

60-day public comment period to 45

days in order to expedite final action on

this proposal.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

I certify that these regulations would

not have a significant economic impact

on a substantial number of small entities

because they would affect only Federal

agencies and employees.

E.O. 12866, Regulatory Review

This rule has been reviewed by the

Office of Management and Budget in

accordance with Executive Order 12866.

Family Assessment Certification

I certify that these regulations would

strengthen the stability of the family,

help families meet their responsibilities,

and increase the disposable income of

families in accordance with section 654

of the Treasury and General

Government Appropriations Act, 1999,

as contained in section 101(h) of Public

Law 105–277, the Omnibus

Consolidated and Emergency

Supplemental Appropriations Act,

1999.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 630

Government employees.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Janice R. Lachance,

Director.

Accordingly, OPM is proposing to

amend part 630 of title 5 of the Code of

Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 630—ABSENCE AND LEAVE

1. The authority citation for part 630

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 6311; § 630.301 also

issued under Pub. L. 103–356, 108 Stat. 3410;

§ 630.303 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 6133(a);

§§ 630.306 and 630.308 also issued under 5

U.S.C. 6304(d)(3), Pub. L. 102–484, 106 Stat.

2722, and Pub. L. 103–337, 108 Stat. 2663;

subpart D also issued under Pub. L. 103–329,

108 Stat. 2423; § 630.501 and subpart F also

issued under E.O. 11228, 30 FR 7739, 3 CFR,

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2000 / Proposed Rules 6341

1974 Comp., p. 163; subpart G also issued

under 5 U.S.C. 6305; subpart H also issued

under 5 U.S.C. 6326; subpart I also issued

under 5 U.S.C. 6332, Pub. L. 100–566, 102

Stat. 2834, and Pub. L. 103–103, 107 Stat.

1022; subpart J also issued under 5 U.S.C.

6362, Pub. L. 100–566, and Pub. L. 103–103;

subpart K also issued under Pub. L. 105–18,

111 Stat. 158; subpart L also issued under 5

U.S.C. 6387 and Pub. L. 103–3, 107 Stat. 23;

and subpart M also issued under 5 U.S.C.

6391 and Pub. L. 102–25, 105 Stat. 92.

Subpart B—Definitions and General

Provisions for Annual and Sick Leave

2. In § 630.201(b), a new definition of

serious health condition is added in

alphabetical order to read as follows:

§ 630.201 Definitions.

* * * * *

Serious health condition has the

meaning given that term in § 630.1202.

* * * * *

Subpart D—Sick Leave

3. In § 630.401, the introduction to

paragraph (a) and paragraphs (a)(3) and

(b) are revised; paragraphs (c) through

(e) are redesignated as paragraphs (d)

through (f), respectively; a new

paragraph (c) is added; and in newly

designated paragraph (e), ‘‘(c)’’ is

removed and ‘‘(d)’’ is added in its place

wherever it appears to read as follows:

§ 630.401 Grant of sick leave.

(a) Subject to paragraphs (b) through

(f) of this section, an agency must grant

sick leave to an employee when the

employee—

* * * * *

(3)(i) Provides care for a family

member who is incapacitated as the

result of physical or mental illness,

injury, pregnancy, or childbirth or who

receives medical, dental, or optical

examination or treatment; or

(ii) Provides care for a family member

with a serious health condition.

* * * * *

(b) The amount of sick leave granted

to an employee during any leave year

for the purposes described in

paragraphs (a)(3)(i) and (4) of this

section may not exceed a total of 104

hours (or, in the case of a part-time

employee or an employee with an

uncommon tour of duty, the number of

hours of sick leave normally accrued by

that employee during a leave year).

(c)(1) An employee who is caring for

a family member with a serious health

condition under paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of

this section may use a total of up to 480

hours of sick leave (or, in the case of a

part-time employee or an employee with

an uncommon tour of duty, an amount

of sick leave equal to 12 times the

average number of hours in his or her

scheduled tour of duty each week)

during a leave year, subject to the

limitation found in paragraph (c)(2) of

this section.

(2) If, at the time an employee uses

sick leave to care for a family member

with a serious health condition under

paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of this section, he or

she has used any portion of the sick

leave authorized under paragraph (b) of

this section during that leave year, that

amount must be subtracted from the

maximum number of hours authorized

under paragraph (c)(1) of this section to

determine the total amount of sick leave

that may be used during the remainder

of the leave year to care for a family

member with a serious health condition.

* * * * *

4. Section 630.403 is revised to read

as follows:

§ 630.403 Supporting Evidence.

(a) An agency may grant sick leave

only when supported by evidence

administratively acceptable. Regardless

of the duration of the absence, an

agency may consider an employee’s

certification as to the reason for his or

her absence as evidence

administratively acceptable. For an

absence in excess of 3 workdays, or for

a lesser period when determined

necessary, the agency may also require

a medical certificate or other

administratively acceptable evidence as

to the reason for an absence for any of

the purposes described in § 630.401(a).

(b) An agency may establish a

uniformly applied policy that requires

employees to provide administratively

acceptable evidence or medical

certification for a request for sick leave

within a specified time period. An

employee who does not provide

required administratively acceptable

evidence or medical certification within

his or her agency’s specified time period

is not entitled to sick leave.

§ 630.405 [Amended.]

5. In paragraph (a), remove ‘‘(e)’’ and

add in its place ‘‘(f),’’ and in paragraph

(b), remove the last sentence.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 00–2932 Filed 2–4–00; 4:26 pm]

BILLING CODE 6325–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 989

[Docket No. FV00–989–2 PR]

Raisins Produced From Grapes Grown

in California; Increase in

Compensation Rate for Handlers’

Services Performed Regarding

Reserve Raisins

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This rule invites comments

on increasing, by approximately 15

percent, the compensation rate for

handlers’ services performed in

connection with reserve raisins covered

under the Federal marketing order for

California raisins (order). The order

regulates the handling of raisins

produced from grapes grown in

California and is administered locally

by the Raisin Administrative Committee

(Committee). These changes are

necessary to reflect current industry

costs.

DATES: Comments must be received by

April 10, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are

invited to submit written comments

concerning this proposal. Comments

must be sent to the Docket Clerk,

Marketing Order Administration

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs,

AMS, USDA, room 2525–S, PO Box

96456, Washington, DC 20090–6456;

Fax: (202) 720–5698, or E-mail:

moab.docketclerk@usda.gov. All

comments should reference the docket

number and the date and page number

of this issue of the Federal Register and

will be made available for public

inspection in the Office of the Docket

Clerk during regular business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Maureen T. Pello, Marketing Specialist,

California Marketing Field Office,

Marketing Order Administration

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs,

AMS, USDA, 2202 Monterey Street,

suite 102B, Fresno, California 93721;

telephone: (559) 487–5901, Fax: (559)

487–5906; or George Kelhart, Technical

Advisor, Marketing Order

Administration Branch, Fruit and

Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, room

2525–S, PO Box 96456, Washington, DC

20090–6456; telephone: (202) 720–2491,

or Fax: (202) 720–5698.

Small businesses may request

information on complying with this

regulation by contacting Jay Guerber,

Marketing Order Administration